Symptoms:

• Shortness of breath
• Difficulty breathing
• Feeling of "air hunger" or "drowning"
• Grunting or gurgling sounds with breathing
• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath with lying down -- you may need to sleep with your head propped up or use extra pillows
• Cough
• Anxiety
• Restlessness
• Excessive sweating
• Pale skin

• Nasal flaring
• Coughing up blood
• Inability to speak
• Decrease in level of awareness

Signs and tests:

The health care provider will perform a physical exam and use a stethoscope to listen to the lungs and heart. You may have:

• Rapid breathing
• Increased heart rate
• Crackles in the lungs or abnormal heart sounds
• Pale or blue skin color

Possible tests include:

• Blood oxygen levels -- low in patients with pulmonary edema
• Chest x-ray -- may reveal fluid in or around the lung space or an enlarged heart
• Ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram) -- may show a weak heart muscle, leaky or narrow heart valves, or fluid surrounding the heart