Sepsis is a serious physiological dysfunction that occurs when your immune system has an exaggerated response to an infection and triggers a life-threatening chain reaction of inflammation throughout the body. Sepsis is a leading cause of death, accounting for one in five deaths worldwide in 2017. In a research paper published in JAMA, researchers found “sepsis contributed to one in every two to three deaths” in U.S. hospitals. Owing to an increased risk of infection, sepsis is the No. 1 cause of death in U.S. hospitals. Sepsis results when a domino effect of autonomic responses creates the perfect storm in the body. The first domino falls when an infection is present. This causes the release of infection-fighting chemicals into the bloodstream. When the body’s reaction to those chemicals triggers systemic inflammation, sepsis occurs and can rapidly progress into tissue damage, multiple system organ failure, and death. The leading causes of sepsis …