Causes and Symptoms of Cardiogenic Shock

14 May, 2009 No Comment

What is Cardiogenic shock?

A disease state involving malfunctioning of heart to such an extent, that it almost fails to provide adequate blood supply to the body.

What causes Cardiogenic shock?

Cardiogenic shock occurs due to the malfunctioning of the heart muscle, the valves, and the electrical conduction system of heart. The common disorders are heart attack, heart failure, cardiomyopathy, heart rupture, uneven heart rhythms, and heart valve malfunctioning (particularly leaky valves).

What are common Cardiogenic shock symptoms?

Following are the common symptoms for Cardiogenic shock:

• Hasty pulse
• Weak and uneven pulse rate
• Hasty breathing
• Anxiety and discomfort
• Drop in skin temperature
• Exhaustion, tiredness and weakness
• Uneven mental status
o Loss in attentiveness
o Loss in concentration ability
• Restlessness and agitation
• Unconsciousness and a state of coma
• Mottling or paling of skin color
• Copious sweating and wet skin
• Drop in urine output (close to negligible)

What are signs and diagnostic tests for Cardiogenic shock?

To examine the status of pulse following medical test is conducted — lower blood pressure (less than 90 systolic) of patient and dropping of blood pressure, when the patient changes his physical stature from lying down condition to standing up position, by more than 10 points. This physical condition is termed as an orthostatic hypotension. The pulse condition in this case may be feeble or missing.

In this case, the diagnostic test involves insertion of a catheter in the pulmonary artery to measure the flow of blood into the lungs. The test may reveal that blood is depositing into the lungs causing disruptions in the pumping function of the heart.

Following are the common diagnosis tests for Cardiogenic shock:

• Electrocardiogram
• Coronary angiography
• Echocardiogram
• Nuclear scans

In addition there are some other tests to establish the cause of the heart’s disorders. These tests include:

• Cross-matching and type for probable blood transfusion
• Arterial blood gas
• Blood chemistry study (chem-7, chem-20, electrolytes, cardiac enzymes)