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When resulting from blood loss, trauma is the most common root cause, but severe blood loss can also happen in various body systems without clear traumatic injury. [3] The body in hypovolemic shock prioritizes getting oxygen to the brain and heart, which reduces blood flow to nonvital organs and extremities, causing them to grow cold, look ...
Alcohol also affects the temperature-regulating system in the brain, decreasing the body's ability to shiver and use energy that would normally aid the body in generating heat. [33] The overall effects of alcohol lead to a decrease in body temperature and a decreased ability to generate body heat in response to cold environments. [34]
Simplified control circuit of human thermoregulation. [8]The core temperature of a human is regulated and stabilized primarily by the hypothalamus, a region of the brain linking the endocrine system to the nervous system, [9] and more specifically by the anterior hypothalamic nucleus and the adjacent preoptic area regions of the hypothalamus.
Hypothermia and extreme stress can both precipitate fatal tachyarrhythmias. A more modern view suggests that an autonomic conflict – sympathetic (due to stress) and parasympathetic (due to the diving reflex) coactivation – may be responsible for some cold water immersion deaths.
Secondary to conservation of local energy resources by metabolic slowing and brain inactivation, hypothermia also protects the brain from injury by other mechanisms during stopped blood circulation. These include reduction of free radicals and immune-inflammatory processes. [25]
Neurogenic shock is a distributive type of shock resulting in hypotension (low blood pressure), often with bradycardia (slowed heart rate), caused by disruption of autonomic nervous system pathways. [1] It can occur after damage to the central nervous system, such as spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury.
The therapeutic effect of hypothermia is not confined to metabolism and membrane stability. Hypothermia can also prevent the injuries that occur after circulation returns to the brain, or what is termed reperfusion injuries. In fact, an individual suffering from an ischemic insult continues suffering injuries well after circulation is restored.
The trauma triad of death is a medical term describing the combination of hypothermia, acidosis, and coagulopathy. [1] This combination is commonly seen in patients who have sustained severe traumatic injuries and results in a significant rise in the mortality rate . [ 2 ]