If a patient experiences severe septic shock leading to widespread vasodilation and capillary leakage, which consequence follows within the cardiovascular system?

💡 Explanation

Septic shock causes systemic vasodilation and increased capillary permeability; because of this, the circulating blood volume decreases due to fluid extravasation. Therefore, reduced venous return to the heart impairs cardiac output, rather than the body compensating effectively with increased contractility or selective vasoconstriction.

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