During the decompensation phase of shock, which vitals would you expect?

Prepare for the EMT Exam with multiple choice questions and detailed explanations. Enhance your knowledge with flashcards. Gear up for your certification!

In the decompensation phase, the body’s ability to maintain perfusion is failing, so you’ll see signs of worsening circulation. Blood pressure drops as cardiac output falls, and the heart tries to compensate by beating faster, producing tachycardia. Breathing speeds up to help offset metabolic acidosis, giving tachypnea. The skin becomes pale and cool and clammy from peripheral vasoconstriction that shunts blood to vital organs. So you’d expect low blood pressure together with tachycardia, tachypnea, and pale, cool, clammy skin. High blood pressure or normal vital signs wouldn’t fit this stage, and hypoglycemia is not a defining vital-sign pattern for the decompensation phase.