Shock (circulatory)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Acute shock" redirects here. For the psychological condition, seeAcute stress
reaction.
Shock
Classification and external resources
Specialty

Cardiology, critical care

medicine

ICD-10

R57

ICD-9-CM

785.50

DiseasesD

12013

B
MedlinePlu 000039
s
eMedicine

emerg/531 med/285emerg/533

MeSH

D012769

[edit on Wikidata]
Circulatory shock, commonly known asshock, is a lifethreateningmedical condition of low blood perfusion to tissues resulting in cellular
injury and inadequate tissue function.[1][2] The typical signs of shock are low blood
pressure, rapid heart rate, signs of poor end-organ perfusion (i.e.: low urine output,
confusion, or loss of consciousness), and weak pulses.
The shock index (SI), defined as heart rate divided by systolic blood pressure, is an
accurate diagnostic measure that is more useful than hypotension and tachycardia
in isolation.[3] Under normal conditions, a number between 0.5 and 0.8 is typically
seen. Should that number increase, so does suspicion of an underlying state of
shock. Blood pressure alone may not be a reliable sign for shock, as there are times
when a person is in circulatory shock but has a stable blood pressure. [4]
Circulatory shock is not related to the emotional state of shock. Circulatory shock is
a life-threatening medical emergency and one of the most common causes of death
for critically ill people. Shock can have a variety of effects, all with similar outcomes,
but all relate to a problem with the body's circulatory system. For example, shock
may lead to hypoxemia (a lack of oxygen in arterial blood)
or cardiac and/orrespiratory arrest.[5]

One of the key dangers of shock is that it progresses by a positive

feedback mechanism. Poor blood supply leads to cellular damage, which results in
an inflammatory response to increase blood flow to the affected area. This is
normally very useful to match up supply with tissue demand for nutrients. However,
if enough tissue causes this, it will deprive vital nutrients from other parts of the
body. Additionally, the ability of the circulatory system to meet this increase in
demand causes saturation. A major result of which is that other parts of the body
begin to respond in a similar way, thus exacerbating the problem. Due to these
chain of events, immediate treatment of shock is critical to survival. [4]