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Cardiogenic shock can happen in various ways. Commonly, it has to do with a heart attack, where the heart muscle is damaged and the heart’s not able to pump efficiently to the tissues. But it could also happen because the person has an infection on a heart valve and that valve is no longer effective, leading to hypoperfusion or lack of flow to the tissues. It can happen because of an infection or a virus that can affect the muscle of the heart, making it weak and unable to pump blood to the tissues. It can happen because the person had a clot or we call a DVT that broke off and caused a massive PE. It can happen because there is fluid that accumulated around the heart muscle itself in the pericardium called pericardial effusion. That can cause tamponade, which leads to shock. Other reasons could be trauma or overdose or certain medications or problems with oxygenation.
