Other NSCIA Publications > Fact Sheets
ShareAutonomic Dysreflexia (AD)
Autonomic Dysreflexia (AD) is a potentially life threatening response to pain below a spinal cord injury. This can apply anytime to any person living with an SCI, dependent upon the level of the injury, and all precautions should be taken. Even though the pain may not be felt, the nervous system reacts by constricting the blood vessels and increasing the blood pressure.
Other branches of the body recognize the increase in blood pressure and try to offset the change by slowing the heart rate while distributing signals to notify the blood vessels to relax. Due to the spinal cord lesion, these signals cannot pass through to the brain. This causes the body to continue slowing the heart rate and sending signals to the blood vessels while the blood pressure keeps rising. Please ask your physiatrist or health care professional for more information.
One of the most useful resources for individuals with SCIs is our laminated, wallet-sized quick reference AD Medical Alert Card to carry in your wallet or billfold, provided courtesy of NSCIA in collaboration with Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center (WWRC) whose staff provided the medical content.
Email us with your full name and complete mailing address to receive a card by mail, or call (800) 962-9629 M-F 8:30 am-5:00 pm ET. Or download your own AD card right now.
NSCIA can also provide other useful AD information, such as clinical practice guidelines and a consumer guide on AD, along with online resources available at www.spinalcord.org
Special thanks to the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center for review of this article, and for their support in producing the AD Wallet Card