In which type of shock is the cardiac output (CO) typically decreased?

In the context of shock, a critical understanding is how cardiac output varies with different types of shock. While it's true that in various forms of shock the mechanisms differ, the central theme is that cardiac output typically decreases across all mentioned types.

In cardiogenic shock, the heart's ability to pump blood is impaired, often due to conditions like a severe heart attack or other cardiac dysfunctions, leading to a significant reduction in cardiac output. This is fundamentally due to the heart's inability to effectively contract and maintain adequate blood flow to vital organs.

In distributive shock, which often includes conditions like septic shock, the vascular capacitance increases leading to relative hypovolemia. Although initially, it may seem that cardiac output could be preserved, the overall effectiveness of the circulation is compromised, which can lead to a decrease in cardiac output as the body struggles to maintain perfusion despite increased vasodilation.

Obstructive shock also features a decreased cardiac output, generally caused by physical obstruction of blood flow, such as in cases of pulmonary embolism, tension pneumothorax, or cardiac tamponade. Here, despite the heart attempting to pump blood, the obstruction prevents effective circulation, leading to reduced cardiac output.

Thus, the understanding that cardiac output is typically