Hemorrhagic shock is typically identified by the degree of hypotension that develops as a result of blood loss and remains a leading cause of death on the battlefield as well as worldwide.

Monitoring for the onset of circulatory shock in a wounded soldier on the battlefield is typically performed by measurement of arterial blood pressure (mean, systolic, diastolic), arterial oxygen saturation (oximetry), or simple auscultation of the pulse (rate and character).

Shock is typically recognized by non-specific signs and subjective symptoms such as: cold clammy skin, pallor, weak thready pulse, unstable vital signs, and diminished mentation. Unfortunately, these signs are imprecise, subjective, and inconsistent.

Therefore, a definition based on the absence or presence of hypotension can be misleading since it does not represent the underlying problem of or the solution to hemorrhagic shock.

The resulting challenge is that shock is easily diagnosed in late stages when therapy is ineffective while early diagnosis is difficult because shock is first recognized by imprecise signs and subjective symptoms.