Acute Pulmonary Edema: Symptoms, Causes & What to Do

Signs and symptoms of acute pulmonary edema:

Symptoms:

* Shortness of breath (dyspnea) when lying down or exercising

* Orthopnea – severe breathlessness when lying flat, often causing to sit or stand at night for relief

* Wheezing or noisy breathing

* Cough, may be dry or produce frothy sputum that might be pink and blood tinged

* Feeling of suffocation or drowning

* Anxiety

* Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)

* Fatigue and weakness

* Confusion

* Cyanosis - bluish discoloration of the skin, lips, and nail beds

Signs:

* Tachycardia - increased heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute

* Tachypnea - increase respiratory rate of more than 20 breaths per minute

* Hypoxia - reduced blood oxygen levels

* Crackles (rales) heard with a stethoscope at the bases of the lungs

* Increased jugular venous pressure

* S3 or S4 heart sounds

* Peripheral edema - swelling in the legs, ankles, and feet