Hypovolemic shock occurs when

• A. the clotting ability of the blood is enhanced.
• B. the body cannot compensate for rapid blood loss.
• C. the patient experiences a rise in blood pressure.
• D. the blood volume loss is at least 10%.

Answer: (B)

Hypovolemic shock happens when enough blood or fluid is lost that the circulating volume falls too low to supply tissues with oxygen, and the body’s compensatory efforts can no longer keep up with the rapid loss. That’s why the correct statement is that the body cannot compensate for rapid blood loss. When blood volume drops quickly, the heart tries to beat faster and the vessels constrict to maintain pressure, but if the loss is excessive or rapid, these responses aren’t enough and perfusion to organs declines.

The other ideas don’t fit: an enhanced clotting ability wouldn’t cause shock by itself and could lead to other problems, not the failure of perfusion. A rise in blood pressure is not what happens in shock—the characteristic pattern is falling blood pressure as perfusion deteriorates. Relying on a fixed percentage loss, like 10%, isn’t accurate because the threshold for shock varies with the person and the rate of loss; some people shock at smaller losses, others may compensate longer despite larger losses.