Fluid on the Lungs

[Prada47]

Not for me but a friend has just been for an X ray and was told he has fluid on his lungs, He has been booked for blood tests and an CT scan. My question is, does fluid just disappear or is there a procedure to remove it. This has come on suddenly a shortage of Breath that alarmed him hence a visit to the GP.

My concern is he has been a good friend for nearly 50 years but lives a few hundred miles away and if this is very serious I would go and see him Covid restriction or not.

Hands Face Space to stay safe

[Love101cats]

The fluid can be removed by medication as in tablets or intravenously in hospital. Its generally a way many of us find out that our hearts aren't working too well. If they haven't kept him in hospital I would wait and see the results of the other tests. You may be needed more then.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Has he got swollen ankles?

[Prada47 in reply to MichaelJH]

Hi Michael

No just a cough he is 75 with no previous conditions !!!

Thanks

Hands Face Space to Stay Safe

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to Prada47]

Slightly puzzling... With heart failure fluid collection usually starts around the ankles. Other conditions that cause fluid on the lungs include pneumonia but this would make him feel totally rubbish. And I don't imagine he has been to Machu Picchu recently - exposure to high altitudes can cause fluid on the lungs in some individuals. All I can say if he starts feeling worse he should call 111 or 999 straight away!

[Smileyian in reply to MichaelJH]

You have worried me now Michael. I had terrible breathlessness and swollen ankles / lower leg which prompted an unscheduled visit to Cardiologist. As my previous Tests all showed a heart in good working order with a LVEF of 57, my swellings were considered as Gravitational Oedema. My SOB was a mystery. HOWEVER I was prescribed Furosemide 40mg and lo and behold the ankle swelling subsided, I lost 5kg and the breathlessness substantially disappeared. I wonder now if this medicine cleared fluid from my lungs as I am breathing near normal. You have made me think Michael. Could one possibly have heart failure ( a terrible misnomer) with a left ventricle ejection fraction of 57 ? Which is my latest result.

[Smileyian]

Very interesting TRST.

[Margah]

3 yrs ago, having been an active 76 yr old, I couldn't breathe and couldn't walk more than a few steps without having to rest. I almost collapsed on the golf course. My GP found fluid on my lungs and prescribed diuretic tablets as well as booking me in for tests. I didn't have swollen ankles nor a pain in my chest.

Tests showed I needed a new aortic valve and a triple by pass. The fluid quickly dispersed and I was able to return to an active life while waiting 18 mths for an operation.

Marga

[Grayjay]

I suffer with fluid retention. Sometimes ankles swelling or sometimes shortness of breath. Doctors or nurses can't always detect it in the lungs but it's there alright. The only way to get rid is use a diuretic as in Water tablets, they make you pee "much" more. I take them each day as a routine but if more fluid than usual I take an extra tab during the day. Lunch time for me. He will probably be prescribed them by his GP. If he's really bad he might have to go into hospital, as I have twice, and have an infusion via drip.

Hope he sorts it out soon.

[Prada47]

Thankyou for the replies, I do understand a lot to do with Heart Failure I just wondered was there another way to remove fluid from the lungs besides diuretics. Thanks again for your inputs appreciated

Hands Face Space to Stay Safe ( looks like maybe !!! }

[FeetheBookworm]

I was sent to hospital by my GP 3yrs ago when I presented with coughing up fluid and unable to breathe properly. I was sent immediately to A&E where they ran a load of tests & scans and put me on 2 fluid tablets daily. Restricted fluid intake to 1 litre a day and measured output. Peed for England 😂!! Output was 17%. Spent 5 days in hospital - A&E doc kept coming to check in my every am on his way home and kept kicking off that I had not been seen by Cardiology. That happened on the 5th day. I was prescribed 3 different tablets, and 1 more (twice daily) a few weeks later while attending a HF clinic.

2 yrs on EF was 43% and I was discharged to GP care which entails annual blood tests (although not this yr for obvious reasons).

I take Ivabradine (2), Losarton, Spirolactone & Bisoprol. Last yr a statin was added.

When first diagnosed I couldn’t lie flat as mouth would fill with water and I would choke. Sounded like a frog when breathing and needed 3 pillows to prop me up, but in hospital obviously had raised back to the bed. I was 62 at the time.

If your friend is feeling v weak he may not be able to care properly for himself ie cooking etc. I could barely walk. Does he have family locally?

Fiona

[not2worry]

Most physicians here in the States, including Cardiologists, typically and immediately, prescribe a dosage of Furosemide. Depending on what function of the heart is not effectively working (right or left atrium) fluid collection can vary.

Some folks with CHF will have visible edema in their feet, ankles and legs. While other can

collect fluid that will enlarge the liver and stomach and create stomach pain. When the heart isn't properly function collecting fluid in the lungs is also very common.

Of course, fluid in the lungs can be totally unrelated to a heart condition. But I'm surprised the doctor wouldn't address this issue because the lungs are critical to supply oxygen to the body, especially the brain which is one of the first organs it can affect.

Lack oxygen is related to dizziness, falls, fainting and stroke.

Fluid on the lungs needs to be addressed ASAP and the root problem discovered.