Cardiovascular Control after Neurological Injury

Featured Topic — Wednesday, April 26, 2024 — 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM — , Room W192B
Cardiovascular Section — Chair: Aaron A Phillips — Co-Chair: Christopher R West

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most devastating health conditions.  In the vast majority of cases, SCI leads to critical dysfunction of the sympathetic nervous system resulting in abnormal cardiovascular control. The consequences include life-threatening swings in blood pressure from daily orthostatic hypotension and autonomic dysreflexia (transient unregulated hypertension), as well as 2-4 fold increased risk of heart disease and stroke. On a daily basis, systolic blood pressure can swing from 70 to 300 mmHg in a matter of minutes. The mechanisms of dysfunction are beginning to be understood and include plastic changes within the spinal cord and altered vascular function. This session will include a lecture from the world-expert, Dr. Andrei V. Krassioukov. As a translational clinician-scientist, his preclinical models of cardiovascular instability/SCI have established the mechanisms underlying these changes, while his translational clinical trials have improved the health of his patients. A number of 10-15 minute selected talks related to preclinical or clinical research in cardiovascular control after SCI will also occur.

Speakers

• Cardiovascular Control after Spinal Cord Injury
  Andrei V Krassioukov — Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries