Duration | Pulmonary Edema

Duration

Since pulmonary edema can have a variety of causes, as mentioned above, it is not possible to state a general duration of the disease.Since it is a symptom of an underlying disease, such as heart failure, the length of recovery depends heavily on how quickly the underlying disease is successfully treated. The duration of pulmonary edema thus varies within a range of several days to several weeks.

Is a cure possible?

With regard to the healing of pulmonary edema, it is again true that the success of the therapy is strongly dependent on the pathological situation that triggered it. Again, it is a matter of fighting the cause of the pulmonary edema. If it is caused by pneumonia, the condition generally improves as soon as antibiotic therapy begins to take effect.

Once the pneumonia has been treated, the pulmonary edema usually disappears as well. In the case of pulmonary edema caused by heart failure, the heart function must be strengthened or, if necessary, the heart must be relieved by medication. The primary goal is to reduce the body’s water content.

Water is removed from the body by means of diuretic drugs, so that the pulmonary edema can also improve rapidly. If the pulmonary edema exists due to the intake of chemotherapeutic drugs in a cancerous disease, it is only logical that it will not disappear until the therapy with chemotherapeutic drugs is completed. It is then, so to speak, an unwanted side effect of the therapy, which is, however, accepted due to the cancer.

Life expectancy in pulmonary edema – What is the course?

First of all, it must be said that pulmonary edema is usually not the cause of a person’s death, but rather the underlying disease that is also the trigger for the edema. If pulmonary edema is adequately treated or the causes are eliminated, no one dies of pulmonary edema. However, if it is not treated and the edema progresses to stage 4, a cardiovascular arrest can occur, which is life-threatening.

Furthermore, pulmonary edema is a good breeding ground for bacteria that can cause pneumonia. Particularly in old, sick and weak people, pneumonia is a life-threatening disease that can lead to death in the worst case. All in all, therefore, it must be said that the severity and consequences of the pulmonary edema are extremely variable and the condition of the patient must be considered on a case-by-case basis and depending on the previous illnesses.