Is pulmonary edema life threatening?

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asked Jul 18, 2023 in Diseases Conditions by Melgoloz (400 points)
Is pulmonary edema life threatening?

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answered Jul 19, 2023 by what2makeofthat (14,110 points)
Pulmonary edema is sometimes life threatening especially if you already have heart failure.

With treatment many people recover from pulmonary edema.

The main cause of pulmonary edema is congestive heart failure.

When your heart is not able to pump blood efficiently your blood can back up into your veins which take your blood through your lungs.

And as this pressure in these blood vessels increase the fluid is then pushed into the alveoli or air spaces in the lungs.

Pulmonary edema leads to death by leading to severe hypoxia and hypoxemia that leads to end organ damage and multi organ failure.

Another common complication of cardiogenic pulmonary edema and cause of death with pulmonary edema is respiratory failure.

Treatment for pulmonary edema include oxygen which flows through a face mask or a flexible plastic tube in your nose, diuretics such as furosemide Lasix which decreases the pressure that is caused by excess fluid in the heart and lung, blood pressure drugs.

Without treatment you can sometimes survive with pulmonary edema for 1 to 2 years and with treatment for pulmonary edema you can survive for 5 years to 15 years or longer.

The chances of dying from pulmonary edema are 17 percent.

Pulmonary edema is life-threatening, but your prognosis depends on what caused it.

One year after discharge from a hospital, about 50% survive cardiac edema.

Heart failure, a common cause of cardiogenic pulmonary edema, is a chronic disease that can get better with treatment.

A person who gets treatment for pulmonary edema can in some cases recover from pulmonary edema.

Only 20 percent of people who are treated for pulmonary edema die and often from complications.

The stages of pulmonary edema are Vascular Redistribution, Interstitial edema and Alveolar edema.

The symptoms of pulmonary edema include.
Discomfort related to breathing.
Trouble breathing when lying down.
Quick and shallow breathing.
Wheezing or noisy breathing.
Feelings of anxiety related to breathing difficulties.
Trouble breathing or shortness of breath.

Surgery is sometimes needed for pulmonary edema in more severe cases.

However surgery for pulmonary edema is rarely needed and the most often treatment for pulmonary edema includes medications that can get rid of excess fluid such as water pills or diuretics and blood pressure medications to dilate your blood vessels.

When pulmonary edema is not treated the fluid buildup in the lungs can lead to coughing up loose mucus or foam, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, wheezing and in some cases death.

Pulmonary edema can become life threatening and requires immediate medical treatment.

Pulmonary edema does require hospitalization as you will likely need to be in the ICU or intensive care unit and given oxygen through a face mask or tiny plastic tubes that are placed in your nose.

When admitted to the hospital for pulmonary edema you will usually stay in the hospital for up to 10 days and you may also need cardiovascular drugs.

You can see pulmonary edema on a chest xray and it's one of the first tests used to check for pulmonary edema and exclude any other possible causes of shortness of breath.

Symptoms of pulmonary edema include: Coughing up blood or bloody froth. Difficulty breathing when lying down (orthopnea) Feeling of "air hunger" or "drowning" (This feeling is called "paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea" if it causes you to wake up 1 to 2 hours after falling asleep and struggle to catch your breath.)

Pulmonary edema is not the same as pneumonia although they are similar.

Pulmonary edema is the excessive liquid accumulation in the tissue and air spaces which are usually the alveoli of the lungs that leads to impaired gas exchange and may even cause hypoxemia and respiratory failure.

Pneumonia also leads to fluid buildup in the tiny air sacs in your lungs, although pneumonia is caused by an infection with a virus, bacteria, or fungus.

Symptoms of pneumonia include chest pain, coughing, fatigue, a fever, shortness of breath, and stomach problems.

Pneumonia can sometimes cause pulmonary edema.

Pulmonary edema is a condition in which fluid builds up in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe.

Most often, the buildup of fluid is caused by a pressure imbalance within the heart, but other causes can also send excess fluid to the lungs.

Pulmonary edema is often caused by congestive heart failure.

When the heart is not able to pump efficiently, blood can back up into the veins that take blood through the lungs.

As the pressure in these blood vessels increases, fluid is pushed into the air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs.

The first treatment for acute pulmonary edema is oxygen.

Oxygen flows through a face mask or a flexible plastic tube with two openings (nasal cannula) that deliver oxygen to each nostril.

This should ease some symptoms.

Heart failure, a common cause of cardiogenic pulmonary edema, is a chronic disease that can get better with treatment.

Out of every three people who've been in the hospital because of heart failure, one person lives five or more years after their stay.

The four physiologic categories of edema include hydrostatic pressure edema, permeability edema with and without diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), and mixed edema where there is both an increase in hydrostatic pressure and membrane permeability.

The fluid stops the lung from fully expanding when you breathe.

So as it builds up, the collected fluid causes shortness of breath.

More than 1 million people are admitted each year with a diagnosis of pulmonary edema secondary to cardiac causes (heart failure).

An estimated 190,000 patients are diagnosed with acute lung injury each year.

About 1.5 to 3.5 cases/100,000 population are diagnosed with ARDS.

Fortunately, if diagnosed quickly, most cases of pulmonary edema are treatable.

A tailored pulmonary edema care plan, led by a team of clinical experts, ensures that each patient recovers as fully as possible.

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