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Is Heart Disease Only Causes Of Edema?
 

Edema is the medical term for swelling. It happens when the small blood vessels leak fluid into nearby tissues and make the tissues swell. Depending on where the swelling occurs, edema can be classified into peripheral edema (legs, feet, ankles, arms); pedal edema (feet and lower legs); abdomen edema (ascites); lymphedema (lymph nodes); pulmonary edema (lung); cerebral edema (head); sacral edema (back) and macular edema (eye).

Things like a twisted ankle, a bee sting, or a skin infection will cause edema. Prolonged standing or sitting can also cause excess fluid to accumulate in the feet, ankles and lower legs. Pregnancy may cause mild leg edema, though serious complications of pregnancy like vein thrombosis and preeclampsia can also lead to swelling.

Medical conditions such as congestive heart failure can cause both peripheral edema and abdominal edema. This is because the heart is too weak to pump blood around the body properly, the blood gathers in front of the heart. Due to the increased blood pressure in the veins, fluid seeps out into the surrounding tissue. This may cause swelling in the legs or a build-up of fluid in the abdomen. If one spends a lot of time lying down, he or she may end up with sacral edema. Congestive heart failure can also cause pulmonary edema, which is uncommon but is life-threatening. Because the left side of the heart is not strong enough to pump the blood returning from the lungs, the lungs are filling with fluid. The blood gathers in the blood vessels of the lung, and fluid leaks into the lung tissue. The symptoms experienced are shortness of breath and rapid, shallow breathing or coughing.

Other heart diseases such as coronary artery disease (CAD), cardiomyopathy, heart valve problems, hypertension can induce pulmonary edema, too.
 

CAD occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle become narrow from fatty deposits. The narrowing of the coronary arteries weakens the left ventricular muscle. When the pumping action is weakened, blood gradually backs up into the lungs. This forces fluid in the blood to pass through the capillary walls into the air sacs, and so chronic congestive heart failure develops. Damaged heart muscle (cardiomyopathy) affects the function of the ventricles. When the left ventricle cannot keep up with the demands that are placed on it, fluid backs up into the lungs.

In mitral valve disease or aortic valve disease, the valves that regulate blood flow in the left side of the heart may not open wide enough or do not close completely, allowing blood to flow backward through the valve. When the valves are narrowed, blood cannot flow freely into the heart and pressure in the left ventricle builds up. The increased pressure extends into the left atrium and then to the pulmonary veins, causing fluid to accumulate in the lungs. On the other hand, if the mitral valve leaks, some blood is backwashed toward the lung each time the heart pumps. If the leakage develops suddenly, one may develop sudden and severe pulmonary edema. Untreated or uncontrolled hypertension can enlarge and weaken the heart.

Besides heart-related causes, there are a variety of other medical problems like severe chronic lung diseases, kidney disease, liver disease, head trauma, and some critical illnesses can all lead to edema.

Severe chronic lung diseases like emphysema and chronic bronchitis may increase pressure in the blood vessels that lead from the heart to the lungs and can cause swelling in the legs and feet. A kidney condition called nephrotic syndrome causes severe leg edema and sometimes whole-body edema. Severe liver disease like cirrhosis causes body to retain fluid. Cirrhosis can also lead to low levels of albumin and other proteins (act like sponges to keep fluid in the blood vessels) and fluid leaks into the abdomen causing leg edema.

Head trauma, low blood sodium, high altitudes, brain tumors, and a block in fluid drainage in the brain, as well as headache, confusion, unconsciousness and coma can all cause cerebral edema. Some critical illnesses like burns, life-threatening infections can cause a reaction that allows fluid to leak into tissues almost everywhere. This can cause edema all over the body.
 

Date: April 30, 2020

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