Instead, call or emergency medical care and wait for help. The causes of pulmonary edema vary. Pulmonary edema is grouped into two categories, depending on where the problem started. Understanding the relationship between your lungs and your heart can help explain why pulmonary edema may occur.
Your lungs contain many small, elastic air sacs called alveoli. With each breath, these air sacs take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. Normally, this exchange of gases occurs without problems. But sometimes, the alveoli fill with fluid instead of air, preventing oxygen from being absorbed into your bloodstream. A typical heart has two upper and two lower chambers. The upper chambers, the right and left atria, receive incoming blood. The lower chambers, the more muscular right and left ventricles, pump blood out of the heart.
The heart valves, which keep blood flowing in the right direction, are gates at the chamber openings. Your heart is made of two upper and two lower chambers. The upper chambers the right and left atria receive incoming blood and pump it into the lower chambers right and left ventricles. The lower chambers pump blood out of your heart. Normally, deoxygenated blood from all over your body enters the right atrium then the right ventricle, where it's pumped through large blood vessels pulmonary arteries to your lungs.
There, the blood releases carbon dioxide and picks up oxygen as it flows by the alveoli. The oxygen-rich blood then returns to the left atrium through the pulmonary veins, flows through the mitral valve into the left ventricle and finally leaves your heart through the largest blood vessel in the body, called the aorta.
The heart valves keep blood flowing in the correct direction. The aortic valve keeps the blood from flowing backward into your heart. From the aorta, the blood travels to the rest of your body. It's usually a result of heart failure.
When a diseased or overworked left ventricle can't pump out enough of the blood it gets from your lungs, pressures in the heart go up. The increased pressure pushes fluid through the blood vessel walls into the air sacs. In normal lungs, air sacs alveoli take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide.
In high-altitude pulmonary edema HAPE , it's theorized that vessels in the lungs constrict, causing increased pressure. This causes fluid to leak from the blood vessels to the lung tissues and eventually into the air sacs. Pulmonary edema that is not caused by increased pressures in your heart is called noncardiogenic pulmonary edema. Heart failure and other heart conditions that raise pressure in the heart increase the risk of pulmonary edema.
Risk factors for heart failure include:. However, some nervous system conditions and lung damage due to near drowning, drug use, smoke inhalation, viral infections and blood clots also raise your risk.
People who travel to high-altitude locations above 8, feet about 2, meters are more likely to develop high-altitude pulmonary edema HAPE. It usually affects those who do not first become acclimated to the elevation which can take from a few days to a week or so. Children who have existing pulmonary hypertension and structural heart defects may be more likely to get HAPE.
In general, if pulmonary edema continues, the pressure in the pulmonary artery can go up pulmonary hypertension. Eventually, the heart becomes weak and begins to fail, and pressures in the heart and lungs go up. You may be able to prevent pulmonary edema by managing existing heart or lung conditions and following a healthy lifestyle.
For example, you can reduce your risk of many kinds of heart problems by taking steps to control your cholesterol and blood pressure. Follow these tips to keep your heart healthy:. Heart Health. Reviewed: January 1, Medically Reviewed. Types of Pulmonary Edema There are two main types of pulmonary edema, based on what is causing the lungs to fill up with fluid.
Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking. Pulmonary Edema. Virtual Medicine Centre. June 20, Pulmonary Edema. Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. February 22, Causes and Risks of Heart Failure. American Heart Association. May 31, Mayo Clinic. August 8, Non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, rhabdomyolysis and myocardial injury following heroin inhalation: a case report.
January-March High Altitude Illness. March 12, April 27, What may seem like chest pain or coughing due to a bad cold could actually have serious health ramifications. More than 1. Pleural effusion occurs when fluid builds up in the space between the lung and the chest wall.
This can happen for many different reasons, including pneumonia or complications from heart, liver, or kidney disease. Another reason could be as a side effect from cancer. The symptoms of pleural effusion can range from none to shortness of breath to coughing, among others. The greater the build-up of fluid, the more likely symptoms will be noticeable.
In addition to excess fluid, the tissue around the lung may become inflamed, which can cause chest pain. In extreme cases, a person can have up to four liters of excess fluid in the chest. It's very uncomfortable. Puchalski says. A physician will usually diagnosis pleural effusion based on interviewing the patient about symptoms and a physical examination. To confirm a diagnosis, he or she may also request an imaging test, which could be a chest X-ray , ultrasound, or computed tomography CT scan.
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