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Review Article
Mechanisms of Disease
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Volume 345:588-595 August 23, 2001 Number 8
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The Pathogenesis of Vasodilatory Shock
Donald W. Landry, M.D., Ph.D., and Juan A. Oliver, M.D.

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Profound vasoconstriction in the peripheral circulation is the normal response to conditions in which the arterial pressure is too low for adequate tissue perfusion, such as acute hemorrhagic or cardiogenic shock. In other conditions, the most frequent of which is septic shock,1,2 hypotension occurs as a result of failure of the vascular smooth muscle to constrict. Such so-called vasodilatory shock is characterized not only by hypotension due to peripheral vasodilatation but also by a poor response to therapy with vasopressor drugs. This syndrome has long attracted interest and defied understanding, but recent work on the function of vascular smooth muscle . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Causes of Vasodilatory Shock

Mechanisms Promoting Vasodilatation in Vasodilatory Shock

Activation of ATP-Sensitive Potassium Channels in Vascular Smooth Muscle

Increased Synthesis of Nitric Oxide

Deficiency of Vasopressin

Conclusions


Source Information

From the Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Landry at the Department of Medicine, Columbia University, Physicians and Surgeons Bldg., 10-445, 630 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032, or at jao7@columbia.edu.

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