Autonomic Nervous System Disorders: When Automatic Body Functions Fail

The autonomic nervous system is the part of the nervous system that controls involuntary actions — the heartbeat, for example, and the widening and narrowing of blood vessels.

What can go wrong

When it fails, the problems can be serious:

• blood pressure problems;
• heart problems;
• trouble breathing and swallowing;
• erectile dysfunction.

When they affect breathing or the heart, these disorders can be life-threatening.

Causes and forms

• They can occur on their own or result from another disease, such as Parkinson's disease, alcoholism or diabetes.
• They can affect part of the system — as in complex regional pain syndromes — or all of it.
• Some are temporary, but many get worse over time.

Treatment

Some improve when the underlying disease is treated. Often, though, there is no cure, and treatment aims to ease the symptoms.

Sources

• "Autonomic Nervous System Disorders," MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, drawing on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH). https://medlineplus.gov/autonomicnervoussystemdisorders.html
• Rewritten in hubnx's own words.