This book describes Circulatory Shock, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Shock may mean many things to many people.

For example it may emotional shock for someone to hear that his son is not genetically his.

There is also a condition termed cultural shock.

Even an electric shock can cause circulatory shock.

Circulatory Shock is defined in the medical context as:

Low blood pressure,

A rapid heartbeat

Signs of poor end-organ perfusion or decompensation and peripheral shut down (such as low urine output, confusion or loss of consciousness).

Shock is a life-threatening disorder that happens when the body is not getting enough blood flow.

Inadequate blood flow indicates that the cells and organs do not obtain enough oxygen and nutrients to function properly.

This can damage multiple organs.

Shock requires immediate medical treatment and can become worse very rapidly.

As many 20% people in shock will die from it.

The main types of circulatory shock are:

Cardiogenic shock (linked to heart disorders)

Injury to the heart can reduce the blood flow to the body, resulting in cardiogenic shock.

Frequent causes are:

Injury to the heart muscle

Irregular heart rhythm

Very slow heart rhythm

Hypovolemic shock (produced by inadequate blood volume)

Hypovolemic shock happens when there is insufficient blood in the blood vessels to transport oxygen to the organs.

This can be produced by severe blood loss (at least 20-25% of circulating blood volume) from injuries.

The blood supplies oxygen and vital nutrients to the body organs.

If the patient loses too much blood, the body organs cannot function properly.

Severe dehydration can also induce this type of shock

Obstructive shock

Obstructive shock happens when blood cannot reach where it needs to go.

A pulmonary embolism is a disorder that may result in an interruption to blood flow.

The disorders that can induce an accumulation of air or fluid in the chest cavity can also result in obstructive shock:

Pneumothorax (collapsed lung)

Hemothorax (blood in the space between the chest wall and lung)

Cardiac tamponade (blood fill the space between the sac surrounding the heart and the heart muscle)

Distributive shock

The disorders that induce the blood vessels to lose their tone can produce distributive shock.

When the blood vessels lose their tone, they can become so dilated that insufficient blood pressure supplies the organs.

Distributive shock can cause symptoms such as:

Flushing

Low blood pressure

Loss of consciousness

There are types of distributive shock such as:

Anaphylactic shock (allergy)

Septic shock (infections)

Neurogenic shock (damage to nervous system)

A person in shock has symptoms:

Pale cool skin

Rapid weak pulse

Rapid breathing

Physical examination may show a pale fainting person with:

Poor alertness

Heart rate>100 beats/minute

Respiratory rate>22 breaths/minute

Hypotension (systolic blood pressure