Cardiovascular Complications

As different regions of the spinal cord are responsible for different cardiac functions there are a variety of cardiovascular complications which can arise as a result of SCI. The supraspinal control of the heart is controlled at the C1-C8 level, sympathetic outflow to the heart is also affected by the T1-T5 level, and sympathetic control of the heart is maintained by the T6-T12 level (Malmqvist et al. 2015). As regions along the entire spinal cord are responsible for varying components of cardiac function, almost any SCI at the thoracic and cervical level can result is cardiovascular complications.