Hemorrhagic shock occurs when the body begins to shut down due to large amounts of blood loss. People suffering injuries that involve heavy bleeding may go into hemorrhagic shock if the bleeding isn’t stopped immediately.
According to the National Trauma Institute, hemorrhagic shock is the second leading cause of death in people with traumatic injuries. Hemorrhagic shock is one of many kinds of medical shock, which are different from emotional (non-medical) shock.
Hypovolemic shock is most often the result of blood loss after a major blood vessel bursts or from a serious injury. This is called hemorrhagic shock. You can also get it from heavy bleeding related to pregnancy, from burns, or even from severe vomiting and diarrhea.
What Causes Hemorrhagic Shock?
Hypovolemic shock results from significant and sudden blood or fluid losses within your body. Blood loss of this magnitude can occur because of:
- bleeding from serious cuts or wounds
- bleeding from blunt traumatic injuries due to accidents
- internal bleeding from abdominal organs or ruptured ectopic pregnancy
- bleeding from the digestive tract
- significant vaginal bleeding
- Endometriosis
In addition to actual blood loss, the loss of body fluids can cause a decrease in blood volume. This can occur in cases of:
- excessive or prolonged diarrhea
- severe burns
- protracted and excessive vomiting
- excessive sweating
Blood carries oxygen and other essential substances to your organs and tissues. When heavy bleeding occurs, there is not enough blood in circulation for the heart to be an effective pump. Once your body loses these substances faster than it can replace them, organs in your body begin to shut down and the symptoms of shock occur. Blood pressure plummets, which can be life-threatening.
Symptoms Of Hypovolemic Shock
What hypovolemic shock looks and feels like can vary greatly depending on:
- Your age
- Your past medical care and general health
- The cause of the shock or the source of the injury
- How quickly you lost the blood or fluids
- How much your blood volume has dropped
With an injury, the most obvious symptom of hypovolemic shock is a lot of bleeding. But you won’t see blood loss when the bleeding is internal, perhaps from an aortic aneurysm, organ damage, or ectopic pregnancy.
Other signs of hypovolemic shock include:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Quick, shallow breathing
- Feeling weak
- Being tired
- Confusion or wooziness
- Little or no pee
- Low blood pressure
- Cool, clammy skinRead more about Treatment and Precautions
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