Pulmonary edema

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Lungs

Respiratory system

Lung congestion; Lung water; Pulmonary congestion

• Anxiety
• Cough
• Difficulty breathing
• Excessive sweating
• Feeling of "air hunger" or "drowning" (if this occurs suddenly, awakening you from sleep and causing you to sit up and catch your breath, it's called "paroxysmal noctural dyspnea")
• Grunting or gurgling sounds with breathing
• Pale skin
• Restlessness
• Shortness of breath
• Shortness of breath when lying down (orthopnea) -- you may need to sleep with your head propped up or use extra pillows
• Wheezing

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Additional symptoms that may be associated with this condition:

• Coughing up blood or bloody froth
• Decrease in level of alertness (consciousness)
• Inability to speak in full sentences
• Nasal flaring

The health care provider will perform a physical exam and use a stethoscope to listen to the lungs and heart. The following may be detected:

• Crackles in the lungs, called rales
• Abnormal heart sounds
• Increased heart rate (tachycardia)
• Pale or blue skin color (pallor or cyanosis)
• Rapid breathing (tachypnea)

Possible tests include:

• Complete blood count (CBC) to check for anemia and reduced red cell count
• Other blood tests to measure blood chemistries and kidney function
• Blood oxygen levels (oximetry or arterial blood gases) -- low in patients with pulmonary edema
• Chest x-ray may reveal fluid in or around the lung space or an enlarged heart
• Electrocardiogram (ECG) to detect abnormal heart rhythm or evidence of a heart attack
• Ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram) to see if there is a weak heart muscle, leaky or narrow heart valves, or fluid surrounding the heart

Review Date: 05/22/2010
Reviewed By: Issam Mikati, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Director, Northwestern Clinic Echocardiography Lab, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).