What are the risk factors for pulmonary edema?
The risk factors for pulmonary edema are essentially the underlying causes of the condition. There isn’t any specific risk factor for pulmonary edema other than risk factors for the causative conditions. What are the symptoms of pulmonary edema? The most common symptom of pulmonary edema is shortness of breath or breathlessness. This may be of gradual onset if the process slowly develops, or it can have a sudden onset in the case of acute pulmonary edema. Other common symptoms may include easy fatigue, more rapidly developing shortness of breath than normal with usual activity (dyspnea on exertion), rapid breathing (tachypnea), dizziness, or weakness. Low blood oxygen level (hypoxia) may be detected in patients with pulmonary edema. Furthermore, upon examination of the lungs with a stethoscope, the doctor may listen for abnormal lung sounds, such as rales or crackles (discontinuous short bubbling sounds corresponding to the splashing of the fluid in the alveoli during breathing). When