Is pulmonary edema serious?

Pulmonary edema- the term may sound like a fancy dish on some molecular gastronomy menu card, but hey, it’s no joke. For those wondering what it is all about (which I am pretty sure you must be if you are reading this), pulmonary edema refers to fluid accumulation in the lungs leading to difficulty in breathing.

But here’s the thing; it can get pretty serious! This article explains everything that one needs to know about pulmonary edema and how dangerous( or not!) this condition actually is.

What Causes Pulmonary Edema?

Before diving into whether or not pulmonary edema is serious let us discuss how does the fluid get accumulated in our lungs? And hence, understanding its root causes:

Cardiogenic Pulmonary Edema

This occurs when your heart cannot effectively pump out blood returning from your lung back into circulation (can’t blame them now, can we?). As a result, pressure builds up in the small blood vessels of the lungs causing fluid leakage into air sacs(alveoli).

Possible causes of cardiogenic pulmonary include:

  • Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
  • Coronary artery disease (CAD)
  • Valvular Heart Disease
  • Mitral Valve Regurgitation
  • Aortic Stenosis

If you have any of these conditions(strictly speaking health-wise), then welcome aboard buddy!

Non-cardiogenic Pulmonary Edema

Unlike cardiogenic ones,this type happens due to factors outside of your heart.(Shocking isn’t it?) The most common cause for non-cardiac related breach inside our body though is secondary damage from existing serious medical conditions or events such as near-drowning accidents.

Other reasons that may contribute towards such damages involve:

  • Exposure to toxins like carbon monoxide or ammonia.
  • Harsh side-effects triggered by drugs.
  • Opiates
  • NSAIDs
  • High altitude travel (Chester Bennington or Avicii, anyone?)
  • Smoke inhalation or severe respiratory infections like viral pneumonia

(Disclaimer: Please consult a qualified medical professional for diagnosis and treatment rather than playing doctor on yourself. Google is better suited to find the nearest pizza joint rather than predicting fatal health issues)

What Are the Symptoms Of Pulmonary Edema?

So we have got an overview of how it occurs but WHAT exactly happens when Pulmonary edema strikes us hard? Here are some symptoms that one may experience:

These Ones Will Make You Feel Like A Fish Out Of Water!

And not in a good way! This vital respiratory organ fails to function as effectively as it usually does during such an ordeal leaving you gasping for air like never before.

Headache | Shortness of Breath | Hypoxia | Pale Skin

And if you already identified with any one of them(Don’t be shy hun!), please do take this seriously because things can go from bad to worse quite quickly especially if we put up our ‘Captain America’ facade and try and continue about normal chores while ignoring these warning signs.

Oh Great! We Get To Be Aquaman Too!

This leakage causes fluid build-up in your body too leading to swelling around certain areas like webbed feet…just kidding which might hurt physically(cue Spongebob meme)and hamper movement

Swollen Legs| Shortness of breath even at rest| Rapid Heartbeat

Talk about adding insult to injury (Except now injury happened first).

How Is Pulmonary Edema Diagnosed?

Assuming your stubborn self finally gave up on trying to put up a fight against God knows how many side-effects, let’s check if you did indeed end up tasting the bittersweet aftermaths(pun intended). Here’s what will happen after arriving at your local clinic with your superhero cape tucked under a bench:

A Physical Exam

Gathering information about vital signs, like respiratory rate per minute and the level of oxygen saturation in the patient’s blood will be done.

In addition to that, a thorough examination of chest for crackles or wheezes upon breathing would also aid in passing any conclusion.

Imaging Tests

Doctors will then further investigate by taking an x-ray(They do not need to use their eyesight alone!) Of course financial expenses may soar post this too!

An MRI or CT scan could also be used if required(pretending we have limitless money). The objective here is to check if fluids indeed tried occupying areas they should stay away from.

How Serious Is Pulmonary Edema?

Now coming back to the big question! Can pulmonary edema kill us? Well….

Any Breach With Our Lungs And Here We Are Thinking Thanos Was The Real Deal.

Just kidding…well sort of. While it’s impossible(for now)to get rid off death altogether but let’s just say having fluid buildup inside our lungs is hardly desirable experience because it can literally suck life outta ourselves(whoosh!). So yes,it is pretty serious issue we are dealing with here.(Sorry for putting you down Sherlock)

However what severity, timing and exposure duration someone gets effected by Pulmonary Edema boils down to individual difference as well as whether prompt treatment was provided .Some cases won’t show lasting adverse effects too!

Treatment For Pulmonary Edema

But enough doom and gloom already! Here comes Captain Doctor (minus shield)with some good news too.So how exactly does one combat pulmonary edemas iron grip on them?
(Hint: Treatments other than blubbering songs heard during quarantine days)

Let’s explore that some more below:

Oxygen Therapy

To make sure we don’t run out of breath again(until gym centers are functional again that is) doctors will provide supplemental oxygen to help your lungs obtain much-needed oxygen. (Oxygen tanks come with a better price point as compared to Playstations..ugh)

Medications

Diuretics or water pills can work wonders too by facilitating proper fluid excretion process thus reducing the buildup that afflicted us in first place(Thank you chum!).Other medication containing nitrates can be useful too.

Further Treatment

If the patient has congestion and weak heart/cardiac arrest aspiration, then he needs a ventilator for intervention because things got serious real quick!

Apart from this, it is important to regularly follow up after since what method works best for an individual varies now more than ever.(But if we could only have some kind of crystal ball-like predictions on this, life would definitely become smoother!)

Wrapping Up

So there you go people! The answer we were all looking for; yes pulmonary edema IS serious. Do not let hopes of being ‘Iron Man’ sway away realistic thinking when it comes down to health issues like this. Make sure you consult medical personnel well versed in such areas and follow up properly(lame way?).

Stay healthy my friends!

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