Comprehensive Autonomic Center
Strengthening your body’s autonomic nervous system
If you have an autonomic disorder (dysautonomia), you may feel like your health concerns are invisible. But we see you and recognize your health needs. Ready with leading-edge services, we’ll treat your disorder and improve your symptoms.
Autonomic disorders create a short circuit in your body’s autonomic nervous system (ANS) that can cause problems with autonomic functions like your heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. And if you have one of these conditions, you need expert care.
Autonomic disorders affect over 70 million people worldwide.
Why VCU Health?
When you come to us, you can feel confident you’re in the right place. As Virginia’s only comprehensive autonomic clinic, we’re ready with the advanced testing you need to get an accurate — and fast — diagnosis, and research-driven treatment. As your health care partner, we’ll be by your side for every step of your journey back to better living.
Our approach to care
Autonomic conditions are complex and affect everyone differently. That’s why we’ve brought together a team of specialists who work across their fields of medicine to meet your unique needs. Your care team may include brain, digestive system, heart and kidney providers, as well as care coordinators, nurses, and physical and occupational therapists. Together, they’ll create a tailor-made treatment plan just for you.
We take a biobehavioral approach to your care. That means we focus on how body factors (like your genetics) and your behaviors (like diet, exercise and smoking) impact your condition. With a better understanding of your symptoms, we may suggest:
- Counseling to help you develop skills to handle your condition
- Lifestyle adjustments
- Medications
- Modifications to your salt and water intake
- Physical or occupational therapy
Your patient experience
Your care is our priority. At every step of your journey, we strive to streamline care for your autonomic disorder and provide all the support you need to feel seen and heard. We’re here to answer your questions, guide you through the process and connect you with valuable resources. Whether you need care for yourself or your child, live locally or travel to see us, you can be confident you’ll receive the highest level of service and treatment.
Your first appointment: what to expect
Your first appointment is our opportunity to learn as much about you as we can. During this in-person visit, we focus on how your symptoms and any other chronic illnesses affect your physical and emotional wellbeing.
- You will meet with several health care providers, plan to be with us for at least four hours
- Expect to have individual sessions with three or four specialists and a psychologist
- Prepare to discuss and design your treatment plan
Refer a patient
We require a clinical referral for all appointments. Providers can make referrals in two ways:
- Internal: VCU Health providers should submit an ambulatory internal referral to either our Adult or Pediatric Autonomic Clinic. Be sure to order autonomic testing if you believe your patient has autonomic dysfunction.
- External: All other providers can fax referrals to 804-591-0800 (adult patients) or 804-628-5852 (pediatric patients).
Our team carefully reviews each referral before accepting a new patient, and schedule appointments based on the severity of a patient’s symptoms. Although we try to schedule visits as soon as possible, we frequently have a waitlist of several weeks.
If we don’t treat a patient’s specific autonomic condition, we will connect them with a clinic that does.