North Carolina EMT State Practice Exam

Which physiological response is not typical of spinal shock?

1. Hypotension

2. Bradycardia

3. Tachycardia

4. Loss of reflexes

The correct answer is: Tachycardia

Tachycardia is not a typical physiological response during spinal shock. Spinal shock occurs following a spinal cord injury and can lead to a series of cardiovascular changes. In this state, there is often a loss of sympathetic tone, which can result in hypotension due to vasodilation. The heart rate generally decreases, leading to bradycardia, as the parasympathetic system becomes more dominant in the absence of sympathetic input. Additionally, spinal shock is characterized by a loss of reflexes below the level of the injury. The body's response is thus more aligned with bradycardia and hypotension instead of an increased heart rate. In contrast, tachycardia, which is an increased heart rate, is typically associated with conditions where the body's fight-or-flight response is activated or where there is a compensatory response to low blood pressure, neither of which occur during spinal shock. This understanding highlights how spinal shock distinctly affects cardiovascular function in ways leading to bradycardia and hypotension instead of tachycardia.