Hypovolemia and dehydration are related but distinct conditions. While they both involve a loss of fluids in the body, they differ in terms of what is primarily lost and their underlying causes. Hypovolemia refers to a decrease in the volume of blood plasma, which can be due to a loss of both water and electrolytes, such as sodium. This condition can result from various causes, including blood loss, severe dehydration, or the use of certain medications that affect fluid balance. Dehydration, on the other hand, is specifically defined as an excessive loss of body water. This can occur when a person loses more water than they take in, which can be due to factors such as vigorous exercise, sweating, diarrhea, or not consuming enough fluids. In summary, while both conditions involve a loss of fluids, hypovolemia involves a decrease in blood plasma volume with a focus on the loss of both water and electrolytes, whereas dehydration is characterized by an excessive loss of body water. read more >>

Hypovolemia. Hypovolemia is a state of decreased blood volume; more specifically, decrease in volume of blood plasma. ... Hypovolemia is characterized by sodium depletion (salt depletion) and thus differs from dehydration, which is defined as excessive loss of body water.read more >>