What causes fluid around the heart?
409139
I think if it is fluid around the heart, he probably has what is called pericardial effusion. This is accumulation of fluid in between the 2 membranes that surround the heart.This can be caused by many things, which include:\n\n1. Viral Infections:  Coxsackie, influenza, Epstein-Barr, echoviruses, varicella, HIV, etc\n\n2. Bacterial: Usually from infections of the lung extending to the pericardial membranes.\n\n3. Tuberculosis\n\n4. Uremia: commonly seen in Renal Failure.\n\n5. Autoimmune causes: like SLE\n\n6. Neoplastic: Due to extension of a malignancy from the lung to the pericardial membranes. Also malignancies like  breast cancer, Renal cell cancer, hodgkin's disease and lymphomas may invade the pericardial membranes and produce pericardial effusion.\n \n7. Drugs/ Radiation\n\nSince the causes are too many, it would be difficult toguess what is causing it in your uncle. The difficulty that he has in breathing could be due to the increased pain during inspiration that is seen with the inflammation of these 2 membranes. It could also be due to a lung disease or accumulation of fluid around his lungs (pleural effusion) too (just like the fluid around his heart).
818558
In addition to what has already been posted, sometimes allergies to foods or environmental agents can cause swelling.   Another cause could be blood pooling in the extremities (usually as a result of clasping your fists too tightly during exercise).  Elevate and/or cool the swollen area and if it doesn't return to normal within a few minutes, call your doctor.
25481
when your heart stops working ("fails") it can no longer pump blood, so the blood backs up (becomes "congested")\n\nyour heart has 2 sides - left and right.  the right pumps blood from the body through the lungs, and the left pumps blood from the lungs to the body.  so in right heart failure, blood backs up into your body -- usually your liver, spleen and legs.  left heart failure backs blood up into your lungs.
844301
There is a lot more to this story than you understand, wrote, or were told.  The condition you describe is called cardiac tamponode and it is not a complication that I have ever heard of from angioplasty...ever.  Additionally, I have never heard of doing a pericardialcentisis and re-injecting the fluid (which almost certainly is not pure blood) directly back into the patient's blood stream.  It usually is sent to the lab for evaluation to help determine where the fluid is coming from.  That part of the evaluation is key to treating the condition.  With the use of steriods it sounds like the doctor is treating pericarditis - an inflammatory condition of the bag that surrounds your heart insulating it from the chest wall.  Pericarditis can be an uncomfortable condition that usually responds to steriods or anti-inflammatories or both.  \n\nI agree that it may be time to seek additional help.  If you doctor is truely baffled I would think he would welcome additional input.  Consider going to a university center for a full evaluation - even if it means traveling.  You only get one heart.  Good luck.
159124
Fluid in lungs is pulmonary edema.  The doctor probably heard "rales" at the base of his lungs, which didn't clear when he coughed, like it might if it was just some mucus in airways.  This is usually due to some heart failure, ie. left sided heart failure.  She gave him a shot of Lasix, most likely, which is a strong diuretic to make him urinate off excess fluid.  Heart failure causes dyspnea (shortness of breath) on exertion and orthopnea (shortness of breath in supine position) and PND = paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea (episodes of waking up coughing and short of breath, after they get up and get some fresh air, they usually get better).  Coughing, esp. in bed, can be a symptom too.  The ultimate cause of heart failure can be too many or one too big of a heart attack with resultant loss of heart muscle, it can be a bad heart valve which can be noticed by murmur on exam or by echocardiogram or cardiac cath, can be caused by hypothyroidism (low thyroid), can be caused by high blood pressure, rarely can be caused by lack of vitamin B1 (wet beri beri), can be a result of a viral myocarditis (a viral heart infection), or can be caused by cardiomyopathy (usually idiopathic, meaning we just don't know why).  The heart is usually somewhat enlarged on Chest xray and echocardiogram may show heart enlargement as well.  Need to make sure he doesn't have any of these treatable causes.  Best to see a cardiologist.
1121133
you should get a medical opinion for a question such as this.  I get the same thing but mine is acid reflux disease.  My husband on the other hand had  the same pain and turns out that the fluid between his ribs and chest wall was not there any more.  He thought he was having a heart attack.  so you see if could be a number of things.  I would get to a Dr. real soon.
467229
In the human body, the heart is normally situated slightly to the left of the middle of the thorax, underneath the sternum (breastbone). It is enclosed by a sac known as the pericardium and is surrounded by the lungs. The apex is the blunt point at the base of the heart. A stethoscope can be placed directly over the apex and count the beats. In normal adults, its mass is 250-350 g, but extremely diseased hearts can be up to 1000 g in mass. It consists of four chambers, the two upper atria (singular: atrium) and the two lower ventricles.\n\nA septum divides the right atrium and ventricle from the left atrium and ventricle, preventing blood from passing between them. Valves between the atria and ventricles (atrioventricular valves) maintain coordinated unidirectional flow of blood from the atria to the ventricles.The ventricular systole consists of the contraction of the ventricles and flow of blood into the circulatory system. Again, once all the blood empties from the ventricles, the pulmonary and aortic semilunar valves close. Finally complete cardiac diastole involves relaxation of the atria and ventricles in preparation for refilling with circulating blood.\n\nThe function of the right side of the heart (see right heart) is to collect deoxygenated blood from the body and pump it into the lungs so that carbon dioxide can be dropped off and oxygen picked up. This happens through a process called diffusion. The left side (see left heart) collects oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body. On both sides, the lower ventricles are thicker than the upper atria.\n\nOxygen-depleted or deoxygenated blood from the body enters the right atrium through two great veins, the superior vena cava which drains the upper part of the body and the inferior vena cava that drains the lower part. The blood then passes through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle. The right ventricle pumps the deoxygenated blood to the lungs, through the pulmonary artery. In the lungs gaseous exchange takes places and the blood releases carbon dioxide into the lung cavity and picks up oxygen. The oxygenated blood then flows through pulmonary veins to the left atrium. From the left atrium this newly oxygenated blood passes through the mitral valve (also called the bicuspid valve) to enter the left ventricle. The left ventricle then pumps the blood through the aorta to the entire body. Even the lungs take some of the blood supply from the aorta via bronchial arteries.\n\nThe left ventricle is much more muscular (1.3 - 1.5 cm thick) than the right (0.3 - 0.5 cm thick) as it has to pump blood around the entire body, which involves exerting a considerable force to overcome the vascular pressure. As the right ventricle needs to pump blood only to the lungs, it requires less muscle.\n\nEven though the ventricles lie below the atria, the two vessels through which the blood exits the heart (the pulmonary artery and the aorta) leave the heart at its top side.\n\nThe contractile nature of the heart is due to the presence of cardiac muscle in its wall which can work continuously without fatigue. The heart wall is made of three distinct layers. The first is the outer epicardium which is composed of a layer of flattened epithelial cells and connective tissue. Beneath this is a much thicker myocardium made up of cardiac muscle. The endocardium is a further layer of flattened epithelial cells and connective tissue which lines the chambers of the heart.\n\nThe blood supply to the heart itself is supplied by the left and right coronary arteries, which branch off from the aorta.
73515
Leg Edema \nSwollen feet and legs, referred to medically as leg edema, occur when fluid is retained in the spaces between body cells. A leg edema typically affects the feet, ankles and lower legs, but can also impact any area of the body, causing systemic symptoms.
503614
Maybe blood clots. Or something just as serious. Maybe just working out too much or over use? See your doc if it keeps up.
427493
haha i'm taking pathophysiology this semester...\n\nwhat you are getting is called oedema.  it is when excess fluid in the tissue of your distal periphery.  it can be caused by a few things...\n\nthere are things called electrolyte, which include sodium, potassium, chloride, etc, which you take into your body when you eat.  these are essential for normal electrical responses in the body.  anyhow.  these need water to travel around, and need water to be expelled from the body.  these slow your kidney down and stop a hormone called renin from being excreted from the kidneys.  renin is a osmotic drug; it helps the veins suck moisture out of the cellular tissue back into the vascular system, eventually to be excreted via urine.  anyhow.  there's your path lecture for the day.\n\nincrease your fluid intake.  decrease salts/electrolytes.  and also move!  get someone to check your blood pressure.  oedema is indicated by your diastolic pressure.  if this is particularly low you might have a vascular disease, which you'll need medical attention for.\n\nalso if you have "puffiness" your reaction might be immunological.  as in your body is fighting something.  especially if it is near the skin.  get your Immunoglobulin E's checked out.\n\ngood luck.
381619
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is the most common problem, where the heart no longer can "squeeze" blood out of the left ventricle with the same efficiency as a healthy heart.  This leads to weaker blood flow to the end organs, and back up of blood flow through the heart, and subsequently, the lungs (causing pulmonary edema), the liver, and the extremities (causing peripheral edema).  \n\nPeople with diseased left ventricles are also at higher risk of:\n\n1. Rupture of the papillary muscles (which are attached to the leaflets of the mitral valve by the cordae tendinae), leading to mitral valve prolapse (and regurgitation).  \n\n2. Ventricular arrhythmias and conduction abnormalities.\n\n3. In worst case scenarios, the myocardial wall may rupture, leading to cardiac tamponade, and if untreated, death.
875100
You have a sac which surrounds your heart called the pericardium, it normally contains a small amount of fluid. This sac prevents friction from occuring on the heart while it is beating (so it doesn't rub against other organs). If you have a pericardial effusion, it means that there is fluid buildup in the sac moreso than normal. A trivial effusion is too small to  consider tapping and draining it with a needle, and your body will likely reabsorb the excess.
706523
Most likely is gas, problems with the heart are pressure in the chest not pain, I would take him to a doctor as soon as possible just to make sure he's fine..☺
675008
Not sure if you're asking "where" or "what" is congestive heart failure (CHF) but I'll answer "what".\n\nCHF is a condition where the heart is not pumping effectively.  This inability of the heart to pump adequately may be the result of degenerative disease, heart attack, or a number of other causes.  When the heart is unable to pump, the blood and other fluids do not circulate as well and become "trapped" in certain areas of the body.  Thanks to gravity, much of the fluid will settle in the lower areas of the body which is why many CHF patients have swollen feet and ankles (pedal edema).  The other place fluid will collect is in the lungs (pulmonary edema), which is why CHF patients typically have difficulty breathing.\n\nA common treatment for CHF is to give diuretic drugs like Lasix (furosemide) or HCTZ (hydrachlorothiazide) which cause the body to expel and excess fluid, reducing the overload.
286221
It could be your heart. I would see a doctor to sort it out.
1168070
a lot of things that cause heart attack\n1. coronary arteries are blocked -- so blood is not able to travel to the heart muscle\n2. too much water/fluids in the body -- makes it harder for the heart to pump\n3. vascular (blood vessels) problems -- due to smoking and other factors -- the blood vessels constrict, also harder for the heart to pump blood through narrowed vessels.\n4. blockage in the vessels -- constricts the opening\n\nimagine that you are a water pump -- when you are pumping water through narrowed openings, or you are pumping water twice more than you usually pump -- you get tired and you give up -- that's how the heart works.
483297
It's caused by too much salt. Large salt intake causes fluid retention, giving that swollen/puffy/fat look. This is caused by the salt/water balance in the body. Drink some extra water and it will go away once your kidneys do their job.