Premergency First Aid, CPR and AED Manual

5 Cardiovascular Emergencies, CPR and AED

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and Pulmonary Edema

Depending how advanced the CHF is, the patient may have a wet sounding cough. Sometimes, in patients with sudden onset of CHF, a severe pulmonary edema will develop, in which the patient has severe difficulty breathing and expels pink, frothy saliva.

When the heart becomes so damaged that it cannot keep up with the return flow of blood, this blood begins to back up and pool in the body. This can occur slowly over months or suddenly, after a heart attack. People with chronic (ongoing) CHF may have difficulty breathing when laying flat and need to sleep in a semi-reclined position. Often, as the backed up fluid collects, there is swelling, especially in the legs, ankles, and feet. When the pressure of the backed up blood becomes too much, fluid (mostly water) passes through the walls of the blood vessels and into the lungs. This condition is called a pulmonary edema.

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