- Pulmonary edema - symptoms
- Pulmonary edema - causes
- Pulmonary edema - diagnosis
- Pulmonary Edema - Treatment
Pulmonary edema is a state of immediate life threatening. It requires an immediate call for an ambulance, and preferably a resuscitation team, because the speed of the intervention determines the success of treatment in the case of pulmonary edema. Read the causes and symptoms of pulmonary edema and how it is treated.
Pulmonary edemais a situation in which exudative fluid begins to accumulate in the alveoli of the lungs instead of air. This happens when the heart cannot pump blood from the vessels in the lungs (pulmonary capillaries) to other organs. The residual blood begins to get to the alveoli through their walls.
This hinders efficient gas exchange in the lungs and leads to hypoxia in the body. It is a very dangerous moment for human life. Therefore, people who have a diagnosed cardiovascular disease should take care of appropriate treatment and be under the supervision of a doctor, because advanced forms of such diseases can lead topulmonary edema .
Pulmonary edema - symptoms
A patient with pulmonary edema looks very characteristic: he usually sits and tries with all his strength to gasp - through his mouth. This can be described as a sap, rapid panting. Plus, he's nervous and sweaty. Seeing a person behaving like this, you should immediately call an ambulance.
What might indicate pulmonary edema?
- rapidly increasing shortness of breath - the patient may feel slightly relieved in a sitting position
- difficult, faster breathing, shallow inhalations and short exhalations
- you can hear gurgling, crackling or wheezing in the lungs, sometimes even without a stethoscope
- pale skin or cyanosis
- cold sweat
- jugular vein overflow
- palpitations
- feeling anxious
- low or high blood pressure
- cough - initially a dry cough, with time a wet cough appears - the patient may begin to cough up foamy yellow discharge tinted with blood
Pulmonary edema - causes
The most common cause of pulmonary edema is left ventricular failure (pulmonary edema of cardiac origin). The failure occurs for such reasons as:
- heart attack
- heart rhythm disturbance
- valve defects
- sudden increase in blood pressure
In addition, other, non-cardiac, causes can lead to pulmonary edema:
- urazy
- toxic substances ( toxic pulmonary edema ) such as plant protection products
- smoke inhalation
- altitude sickness
- in people with cardiovascular disease - even "ordinary" infection:
- cold
- flu
- pneumonia
- COVID-19
- pancreatitis
- choking with fluid
- allergic reaction
- overhydration
- kidney disease
- injecting drugs
Pulmonary edema - diagnosis
If a patient with pulmonary edema does not receive medical attention in time, he may die. But with efficient intervention, the swelling will go away quickly. Shortness of breath should be reduced as soon as possible and the oxygenation of the blood should be improved. The patient should sit, not lie down. You should also not eat or drink anything. The patient is given sedatives and connected to a respirator to facilitate breathing and to give rest to the tired breathing muscles.
Once pulmonary edema is under control, diagnostics should be deepened to determine why it occurred and to implement appropriate treatment of the underlying disease.
The tests to help detect pulmonary edema include:
- EKG
- heart echo
- Lung X-ray
- blood test
- blood gas
Pulmonary Edema - Treatment
If the cause of the disease is known, the patient can be given appropriate medications. Vasodilators are used when the culprit was too high blood pressure. When the swelling is caused by too low pressure - drugs that increase it. In the case of arrhythmias, antiarrhythmic drugs are administered or cardioversion is performed. Diuretics are also recommended to speed up the removal of fluid from the lungs.
After leaving the hospital, the patient should carefully and gradually return to normal activities.
About the author
Marta Uler A journalist specializing in he alth, beauty and psychology. She is also a diet therapist by education. Her interests are medicine, herbal medicine, yoga, vegetarian cuisine and cats. I am a mother of two boys - a 10-year-old and a 6-month-old.
Read more articles by this author