Intensive care is needed when one or more of your organ systems has failed. For example, this might be your:
- lungs
- kidneys
- heart
- digestive system
There are many different conditions and situations that can cause your organ systems to fail. Some of the most common include:
- a severe accident, such as a road accident or a head injury
- a serious acute (short-term) health condition, such as a heart attack (when the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked) or stroke (when the blood supply to the brain is disturbed)
- a severe infection, such as a severe case of pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs) or blood poisoning (sepsis)
- major surgery, (this can either be a planned admission to an ICU as part of your recovery after surgery, or an emergency measure if there are complications during surgery)
