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PULMONARY EDEMA

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Pulmonary edema is a build up of fluid in the lungs.  The lungs are 2 hollow organs in your chest that stretch like a balloon when you breathe in, filling up with air.  Pulmonary edema may be caused by a direct lung injury or a problem with your heart.  Common signs and symptoms include restlessness, troubled breathing, and coughing up frothy pink-tinged sputum.  A lung x-ray will let your caregiver know if you have pulmonary edema.  You may need to be put in the hospital for treatment to get rid of the extra fluid.

RISKS:

Pulmonary edema is a serious, life-threating illness.  A delay in treatment may make your illness worse.  Immediate treatment may result in a complete cure.  Ask your caregiver if you have questions about your illness, treatment or care.

Activity: At first you may need to rest in bed.  It may be easier for you to breathe if you rest with the head of your bed raised.  You can also breathe easier if you rest your head on three or four pillows.  Resting in a reclining chair may also help you breathe better.  Another way to breathe easier is by saving your energy and resting more.  If you have trouble breathing, call you caregiver right away.  You may get out of bed when your breathing has improved.

Breathing treatments: You may need breathing treatments to help open your airways so you can breathe easier.  A machine may be used to help you breathe in medicine.  A caregiver helps you with these treatments.  At first you may need them more often.  As you get better, you may only need the treatments when you are having trouble breathing.

Oxygen: You may need extra oxygen to help you breathe easier. It may be given through a plastic mask over your mouth and nose.  It may be given through a nasal cannula, or prongs, instead of a mask.  A nasal cannula is a pair of short, thin tubes that rest inside your nose.  Tell your caregiver if your nose gets dry or if the mask or prongs bother you. Ask your caregiver before taking off your oxygen.  Never smoke or let anyone else smoke in the same room while your oxygen is on.  Doing so may cause a fire.

Ventilator: A ventilator is a special machine that can breathe for you if you cannot breathe well on your own.  You may have an endotracheal tube (ET tube) in your mouth or nose.  A tube called a trach may go into an incision (cut) in the front of your neck.  The ET tube or trach is hooked to the ventilator.  The ventilator can also give oxygen to you.

Medicines:

• Antibiotics: Antibiotics may be given to help treat or prevent an infection caused by germs called bacteria.

• Bronchodilators: You may need bronchodilators to help open the air passages in your lungs, and help you breathe more easily.

• Diuretics: This medicine is often called “water pills”. Diuretics help your body get rid of extra fluid (edema) in your legs and ankles.  This medicine may get rid of extra fluid in your lungs or around your heart.  It may also decrease your blood pressure.  You may urinate more often when taking diuretics.

• Heart medicine: This medicine may be given to make your heart beat stronger or more regularly.  There are many different kinds of heart medicines.  Talk with your caregiver to find out what your medicine is and why you are taking it.

• Morphine: This medicine helps decrease your pain.  It also may help you breathe easier.  Morphine helps tiny blood vessels in your lungs open wider.  This lets your blood pick up more oxygen, and your breathing may become easier.

• Tests: You may need one or more of the following tests:

• Blood gases: This test is also called an atrial blood gas or ABG test.  Blood is taken from an artery (blood vessel) in your wrist, arm, or groin.  The groin is the area where your abdomen (belly) meets your upper leg.  Your blood is tested for the amount of “gases” in it, like oxygen, acids, and carbon dioxide.

• Chest X-Ray: This is a picture of your lungs and heart.  Caregivers use it to see how your lungs and heart are doing.  Caregivers may use the x-ray to look for signs of infection like pneumonia, or to look for collapsed lungs.  Chest x-rays may show tumors, broken ribs, or fluid around the heart and lungs.

• Echocardiogram: This is also called an echo.  It is a type of ultrasound, using sound waves to show pictures of the size and the shape of the heart.  An echo also looks at how your heart moves when it is beating.  These pictures are seen on a TV-like screen.

• Heart Monitor: This is called an ECG, electrocardiogram, or telemetry.  Sticky pads are placed on your chest or different parts of your body.  This lets caregivers see a tracing of the electrical activity of your heart.  The heart monitor may help caregivers see problems with the way your heart is beating.

• Pulse oximeter: A pulse oximeter is a machine that tells how much oxygen is in your blood.