Final answer:
Hypotension is NOT a symptom of autonomic dysreflexia. The condition is characterized by a sudden increase in blood pressure and can include symptoms like hypertension, headache, and bradycardia, but not hypotension.
Step-by-step explanation:
The symptom that is NOT a characteristic of autonomic dysreflexia is hypotension (2). Autonomic dysreflexia is a condition associated with a severe and sudden increase in blood pressure due to an overactive autonomic nervous system, often in response to a stimulus. This condition most commonly occurs in individuals with spinal cord injuries above the T6 level.
The symptoms of autonomic dysreflexia typically include hypertension (high blood pressure), pounding headache, flushing of the skin above the level of spinal injury, sweating above the level of spinal injury, while the skin below the level of injury can be pale and cool, bradycardia (slow pulse), and sometimes, anxiety. Hypotension, or low blood pressure, is not a symptom of autonomic dysreflexia but is related to orthostatic hypotension, a different condition caused by an insufficient sympathetic response leading to a decrease in blood pressure upon standing.