Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypes and CausesSymptomsEmergency TreatmentRehabilitation and Recovery

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Types and Causes

Symptoms

Emergency Treatment

Rehabilitation and Recovery

Shock means that blood is having trouble circulating throughout the body. It is a medical emergency that can progress rapidly. Shock can be life-threatening, with up to 1 out of 5 people dying as a result.

Low blood pressure and a change in mental state, such as confusion, sleepiness, or unconsciousness, are common signs or symptoms of shock.The underlying causes and types of shock can produce other signs and symptoms. Causes include blood loss, fluid loss, severe allergic reaction, severe reaction to an infection, heart attack, and spinal cord injury.

In this article, you’ll learn what can cause shock, what symptoms spell emergency for each type, the first-line treatments when facing an emergency from shock, and more.

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A young person is checking for breathing for a person who is unconscious and may be in shock

Types of Shock and Their Causes

Shock can be grouped into four types related to the underlying cause, some of which have subtypes. They are:

Hypovolemic shockoccurs when you lose 15% or more of yourblood or body fluid volume.With this, there isn’t sufficient blood volume to circulate.

Hemorrhagic shockis a subtype of hypovolemic shock in which there is dramatic blood loss internally or externally. Causes include trauma (cuts, gunshot wounds, crush injuries) or serious bleeding from a rupture, such as during childbirth or from aruptured spleen.

Other kinds of fluid loss can cause hypovolemic shock. You may find yourself in hypovolemic shock in cases of long-term diarrhea or severe vomiting.

Distributive shockoccurs when there’s sufficient blood volume, but the blood vessels widen too much, which causes issues in getting the blood to the needed areas. The following three subtypes have different sets of causes:

Emergency Symptoms of Each Type of Shock

Signs and symptoms of shock depend on the type. The stage of shock will also display different signs and symptoms. In an early stage, symptoms may still be relatively mild. But if not treated immediately, shock can progress and may rapidly become life-threatening.

In general, lack of blood flow to the cells and organs of the body leads to signs and symptoms of shock. Without enough oxygen-rich blood, tissue damage can occur and result in further effects.

Hypovolemic Shock

Symptoms may include anxiety, paleness, and feeling somewhat shaky when a minimal amount of blood or body fluids have been lost. With more loss of fluids or blood, serious signs and symptoms can include increased heart rate, rapid breathing, a bluish tinge to lips and fingernails, confusion, dizziness, weakness, and eventually losing consciousness.

Distributive Shock

With distributive shock the symptoms you experience will depend upon what’s causing this, be it septic, neurogenic, or anaphylactic shock.

Septic Shock

Early symptoms may be limited to chills, weakness, increased breathing rate, and rapid heartbeat. This becomes an emergency, where you should call 911 if the following symptoms occur:

Neurogenic Shock

In cases of neurogenic shock, which may occur with a spinal cord injury, here’s what to watch for:

Anaphylactic Shock

In anaphylactic shock, the likely signs are:

Cardiogenic Shock

When someone is experiencing cardiogenic shock, the heart is not pumping a sufficient amount of blood for the entire system. Symptoms include the following:

Obstructive Shock

With obstructive shock pressure on the blood vessels from within the body keep the organs from getting the oxygen they need. The symptoms here may seem as if they can apply to other forms of shock and may seem modest at first. Here are some of the symptoms that can occur with obstructive shock:

Emergency Treatment of Shock

If someone is in shock, the goal is to ensure the organs get enough blood and maintain blood pressure. Take the following steps until emergency responders arrive:

Diagnosing ShockWhen the emergency medical technicians (EMTs) arrive, they will get a history from those on the scene, examine the person, and assess the vital signs to help determine the type of shock and how to proceed.

Diagnosing Shock

When the emergency medical technicians (EMTs) arrive, they will get a history from those on the scene, examine the person, and assess the vital signs to help determine the type of shock and how to proceed.

The EMTs or emergency room personnel will aim to restore fluids, keep the person warm, and administer medications to raise blood pressure (when appropriate).The underlying cause and type of shock will dictate further treatment.

Complications

Even with immediate treatment, shock needs to be taken very seriously. It can lead to organ damage, particularly in vulnerable populations such as older people, which can ultimately result in death.

A young, healthy person who goes into shock due to accidental blood loss will recuperate 90% of the time, but an older person who is in shock from cardiac arrest may not survive even if treated promptly.

Once you are successfully treated for shock, you may need rehabilitation to strengthen any organs that have been affected. For example, those with heart disease who have been in cardiogenic shock may need to undergo cardiac rehabilitation to build up their hearts and help keep them out of the hospital going forward.

After experiencing sepsis, you’ll need time to heal in the hospital, recoup your strength, and learn to move around again. Your healthcare provider may also offer a rehabilitation plan for you to follow once you return home.

Keep in mind this will take time. You may find you’re still weak and have trouble moving around during recovery.

Emotional ShockWhen faced with a traumatic event, you can go into emotional shock, which is a psychological phenomenon rather than shock as defined medically. The stress may lead to physical symptoms such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, rapid heart rate, vomiting, visual disturbances, weakness, twitching, and more.This can come on almost immediately afterward or may take months to appear. It may resolve in a few days or require months or more with the aid of a counselor.

Emotional Shock

When faced with a traumatic event, you can go into emotional shock, which is a psychological phenomenon rather than shock as defined medically. The stress may lead to physical symptoms such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, rapid heart rate, vomiting, visual disturbances, weakness, twitching, and more.This can come on almost immediately afterward or may take months to appear. It may resolve in a few days or require months or more with the aid of a counselor.

When faced with a traumatic event, you can go into emotional shock, which is a psychological phenomenon rather than shock as defined medically. The stress may lead to physical symptoms such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, rapid heart rate, vomiting, visual disturbances, weakness, twitching, and more.

This can come on almost immediately afterward or may take months to appear. It may resolve in a few days or require months or more with the aid of a counselor.

Summary

In cases of shock, insufficient blood gets to the organs to supply oxygen and other nutrients. The four types of shock are hypovolemic, distributive, cardiogenic, and obstructive. Subtypes of distributive shock include septic shock, anaphylactic shock, and neurogenic shock.

Causes include blood loss, fluid loss, allergic reaction, systemic reaction to infection, spinal cord injury, heart attack, heart failure, and pressure around the heart or chest. Different signs and symptoms occur depending on the type of shock.

15 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.University of Florida Health.Shock.Standl T, Annecke T, Cascorbi I, Heller AR, Sabashnikov A, Teske W.The nomenclature, definition and distinction of types of shock.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2018;115(45):757-768. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2018.0757University of Utah.The crucial difference between hypovolemic and hemorrhagic shock.British Journal of Nursing.Shock: aetiology, pathophysiology and management.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.What is cardiogenic shock?Mount Sinai.Shock.NHS.Septic shock.Volski A, J. Ackerman D.Neurogenic shock. In: P. Stawicki S, Swaroop M, eds.Clinical Management of Shock - The Science and Art of Physiological Restoration. IntechOpen; 2020.NHS.Anaphylaxis.University of Florida Health.Cardiogenic shock.MedlinePlus.Shock.National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.Recognizing and treating shock in the prehospital setting.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Cardiogenic shock recovery.CDC.I survived sepsis. What’s next?Stanford University.Coping with traumatic stress.

15 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.University of Florida Health.Shock.Standl T, Annecke T, Cascorbi I, Heller AR, Sabashnikov A, Teske W.The nomenclature, definition and distinction of types of shock.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2018;115(45):757-768. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2018.0757University of Utah.The crucial difference between hypovolemic and hemorrhagic shock.British Journal of Nursing.Shock: aetiology, pathophysiology and management.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.What is cardiogenic shock?Mount Sinai.Shock.NHS.Septic shock.Volski A, J. Ackerman D.Neurogenic shock. In: P. Stawicki S, Swaroop M, eds.Clinical Management of Shock - The Science and Art of Physiological Restoration. IntechOpen; 2020.NHS.Anaphylaxis.University of Florida Health.Cardiogenic shock.MedlinePlus.Shock.National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.Recognizing and treating shock in the prehospital setting.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Cardiogenic shock recovery.CDC.I survived sepsis. What’s next?Stanford University.Coping with traumatic stress.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

University of Florida Health.Shock.Standl T, Annecke T, Cascorbi I, Heller AR, Sabashnikov A, Teske W.The nomenclature, definition and distinction of types of shock.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2018;115(45):757-768. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2018.0757University of Utah.The crucial difference between hypovolemic and hemorrhagic shock.British Journal of Nursing.Shock: aetiology, pathophysiology and management.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.What is cardiogenic shock?Mount Sinai.Shock.NHS.Septic shock.Volski A, J. Ackerman D.Neurogenic shock. In: P. Stawicki S, Swaroop M, eds.Clinical Management of Shock - The Science and Art of Physiological Restoration. IntechOpen; 2020.NHS.Anaphylaxis.University of Florida Health.Cardiogenic shock.MedlinePlus.Shock.National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.Recognizing and treating shock in the prehospital setting.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Cardiogenic shock recovery.CDC.I survived sepsis. What’s next?Stanford University.Coping with traumatic stress.

University of Florida Health.Shock.

Standl T, Annecke T, Cascorbi I, Heller AR, Sabashnikov A, Teske W.The nomenclature, definition and distinction of types of shock.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2018;115(45):757-768. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2018.0757

University of Utah.The crucial difference between hypovolemic and hemorrhagic shock.

British Journal of Nursing.Shock: aetiology, pathophysiology and management.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.What is cardiogenic shock?

Mount Sinai.Shock.

NHS.Septic shock.

Volski A, J. Ackerman D.Neurogenic shock. In: P. Stawicki S, Swaroop M, eds.Clinical Management of Shock - The Science and Art of Physiological Restoration. IntechOpen; 2020.

NHS.Anaphylaxis.

University of Florida Health.Cardiogenic shock.

MedlinePlus.Shock.

National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.Recognizing and treating shock in the prehospital setting.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Cardiogenic shock recovery.

CDC.I survived sepsis. What’s next?

Stanford University.Coping with traumatic stress.

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