Circulatory Shock

Dr. Weil, during his residency at the University of Minnesota Hospitals and subsequently during his fellowship in physiology, became interested in circulatory shock states and especially septic shock. Dr. Herbert Shubin, a cardiologist during his training in Cardiorespiratory Medicine had major interest in myocardial infarction. The mortality rate of circulatory shock at that time ranged from 50 to 95%. This prompted the initial effort to establish methods of measurement from which we might better understand the mechanisms and therefore gain insight into better treatment of circulatory shock states.