Hypotension in acute spinal injury is due to:

• High spinal cord injuries can also result in systemic hypotension because of loss of sympathetic tone. • The patient will usually have hypotension and relative bradycardia and will show evidence of good peripheral perfusion on physical examination. • The term neurogenic shock is used but is somewhat of a misnomer because these patients are typically hyperdynamic, with high cardiac output secondary to loss of sympathetic vascular tone. Treatment • Hypotension associated with high spinal injury can be treated by alpha-agonist phenylephrine.