Spinal cord injury 'linked to heart disease'RSS Feed

Spinal cord injury patients could be at a higher risk of heart disease, new research indicated.

Damage to the autonomic nervous system is a key predictor of cardiovascular risk, according to researcher Rianne Ravensbergen, who presented the findings at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2011.

She explained that while exercise is beneficial for people with cardiovascular health problems, in those with spinal cord injury, this can be difficult.

However, doctors also need to investigate whether this group of patients have autonomic dysfunction, she explained, as this is a higher risk for heart disease.

The study found that after the recovery period for spinal cord injury, it is advantageous to screen the autonomic system to evaluate the cardiovascular system of these patients.

It is unclear as to whether the increased risk of heart disease is directly linked to the spinal cord injury, or related to patient characteristics after such an injury, she said.

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