Cardiogenic Shock

[Educause 2009]

Cardiogenic shock occurs when the heart muscles are weakened instantly and the heart is unable to pump blood into the various parts of the body. It is classified as ICD-10R57.0 and ICD-9785.51 under ICD medical codes. In most cases, cardiogenic shock is the result of inadequate blood and oxygen reaching the vital organs of the body such as the brain and the kidney.  This shock can lead to a drop in blood pressure as well as the potential of death.

Cardiogenic shock is a type of cardiomyopathy and is dangerous when it occurs as a medical emergency which can would lead to death of patient if they are not attended to promptly. Cardiomyopathy is a general term used to refer to a series of heart muscle disorder conditions and diseases. The word, Cardio - that are a result of some muscles of the heart. Cardio – refers to the heart, Myo refers to the muscle and Pathy is a medical term that refers to disease. Thus cardiomyopathy means heart muscle disease.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

A person may experience cardiogenic shock when there is inadequate amount of blood and oxygen that does not reach the body's organs. If shock lasts for more than a few minutes, the shortage of oxygen begins to harm the body’s organs. If shock is not treated immediately, it can lead to irreversible organ damage or death.

There are many different symptoms that occur when a person has experienced cardiogenic shock such as anxiety, restlessness, a weak pulse, hypotension, mottled skin because of hypo perfusion of the skin, low urine output and rapid respirations (hyperventilation). There are other symptoms that occur as well that include more advanced symptoms such as absent pulse and pulmonary edema which is when fluid is backed up in the lunges because the heart pumping is insufficient.

A cardiologist or GP can perform a diagnosis test to determine what extent the cardiogenic shock is at. If the reason behind the shock in the body is that the heart is not pumping enough blood, then the diagnosis that a doctor can give is that the patient has experienced cardiogenic shock. Since cardiogenic shock can lead to death, emergency medical treatment should be administered immediately. There are different kinds of emergency treatment that can occur such as putting the patient on an emergency life support system such as the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) or the intra-aortic balloon pump.

Best Shock Treatment

The best way to treat cardiogenic shock is to start before emergency response services arrive, if it occurs away from the hospital. In a medical facility, an emergency life support system will be switched on to build up the vital flow of blood and oxygen to the body organs. Many times both the shock and its reason are treated at the same time. For instance, doctors may quickly open a blocked blood vessel that is causing damage to the muscles of heart.

In few cases this step can get the patient out of shock with little or no extra treatment. Other methods of treatment may involve removing blood clots that are forming or augmenting power with which the heart muscle contracts.

Since most medical treatment is not a total guarantee of survival from cardiogenic shock, the best treatment for long term life probability is surgery which can be administered within 6 hours of the start of shock symptoms. This enhances the chances of survival and patient might become fit again.