Immersion Pulmonary Edema

By Brian Harper. Pulmonary edema is an abnormal leakage of fluid from the bloodstream into the alveoli, the microscopic air sacs in the lungs. It is most often the result of heart failure or other cardiac problems. Sometimes, however, pulmonary edema is observed in swimmers and divers when no underlying medical cause is apparent. This condition, immersion pulmonary edema (IPE), presents as a rapid onset of shortness of breath, cough and sometimes blood-tinged, frothy sputum. Because the fluid builds up in the air-containing spaces of the lungs and interrupts gas exchange, IPE resembles drowning. The important difference is that the obstructing fluid comes from within the body rather than from inhalation of surrounding water. Read more www.alertdiver....