Once they’ve diagnosed shock, their first priority is to provide lifesaving treatment to get blood circulating through the body as quickly as possible. Serious dehydration can also cause this type of shock.įirst responders and doctors often recognize shock by its external symptoms. If you lose too much blood, your organs can’t function properly. Your blood delivers oxygen and vital nutrients to your organs. This can be caused by severe blood loss, for example, from injuries. Hypovolemic shock happens when there isn’t enough blood in your blood vessels to carry oxygen to your organs. The heart rate slows, and blood pressure drops very low.ĭrug toxicities and brain injuries can also lead to distributive shock. This causes blood vessels to dilate, and the skin may feel warm and flushed. Neurogenic shock is caused by damage to the central nervous system, usually a spinal cord injury.

Septic shock occurs when bacteria and their toxins cause serious damage to tissues or organs in your body. Sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, is a condition caused by infections that lead to bacteria entering your bloodstream. Septic shock is another form of distributive shock. This triggers a dangerous immune response.Īnaphylaxis is usually caused by allergic reactions to food, insect venom, medications, or latex. Allergic reactions occur when your body mistakenly treats a harmless substance as harmful. There are a number of types of distributive shock, including the following:Īnaphylactic shock is a complication of a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. Distributive shock can result in symptoms including: When your blood vessels lose their tone, they can become so open and floppy that not enough blood pressure supplies your organs. Common causes of cardiogenic shock include:Ĭonditions that cause your blood vessels to lose their tone can cause distributive shock. cardiac tamponade (blood or fluids fill the space between the sac that surrounds the heart and the heart muscle)ĭamage to your heart can decrease the blood flow to your body, leading to cardiogenic shock.hemothorax (blood collects in the space between the chest wall and lung).

Conditions that can cause a buildup of air or fluid in the chest cavity can also lead to obstructive shock.

A pulmonary embolism is one condition that may cause an interruption to blood flow. Obstructive shock occurs when blood can’t get where it needs to go. There are four major types of shock, each of which can be caused by a number of different events.

The many system shock