Hypovolemic shock is an emergency condition in which severe blood and fluid loss makes the heart unable to pump enough blood to the body. This type of shock can cause many organs to stop working.

Shock - hypovolemic

Losing about 1/5 or more of the normal amount of blood in your body causes hypovolemic shock.

Blood loss can be due to:

• Bleeding from cuts
• Bleeding from other injuries
• Internal bleeding, such as in the gastrointestinal tract

The amount of circulating blood in your body may drop when you lose too many other body fluids, which can happen with:

• Burns
• Diarrhea
• Excessive perspiration
• Vomiting

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Hypovolemic shock Symptoms

Review Date: 01/14/2010
Reviewed By: Jacob L. Heller, MD, MHA, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)