Symptoms | Water in the pericardium – Dangerous?

Symptoms

If only small amounts of water are present in the pericardium, few to no symptoms occur. However, if there is a lot of fluid, a variety of symptoms occur. These are caused by the fact that the heart is spatially constricted in its pericardium and cannot really expand during contraction or pumping.

As a result, the heart chambers can no longer be filled with sufficient blood and the volume of blood ejected is reduced. This leads to symptoms similar to those of heart failure: blue lips, shortness of breath, increased breathing rate, low physical resilience, congested neck veins and possibly also coughing, loss of appetite and inner restlessness. Frequently, if there is water in the pericardium, water accumulation in the lungs also occurs.

The physician then speaks of a pleural effusion. Strictly speaking, the water is not found in the lung itself, but between the lung membrane leaves and lies on the outside of the lungs. A watery effusion in the lungs is much more common than water in the pericardium.

However, the lung leaves can hold considerably more fluid than the pericardium without restricting the respiratory function of the lungs. Therefore, pleural effusions do not quickly lead to a life-threatening emergency situation. Even in the case of pleural effusion, the water collects at the lowest point due to gravity.

However, the amount of fluid can quickly increase and press on the lungs from the outside. This hinders the expansion of the lungs and limits their function. In these cases, the effusion must be punctured and drained to the outside via a needle.

This is usually done under local anesthesia, anesthesia is usually not necessary.In addition to infections, many internal diseases can also lead to an effusion of water in the lungs. A frequent cause is, for example, cardiac insufficiency. The heart, which in the case of heart failure is no longer able to pump the blood volume adapted to the needs of the body, prevents the flow of liquid blood. Blood accumulates in the blood vessels until the high pressure forces the blood out of the blood vessels and accumulates in the lungs. Infections and heart disease in particular can lead to joint effusions of water in the pericardium and lungs.