Whenever I see discussion of heart issues there’s always talk about how fluid builds up in the chest, which compresses the heart and lungs and makes it harder for them to function.
What is that fluid? Where does it come from? Is it blood? Mucus? How does it get there? I’ve never really understood why a weak heart would cause excess fluid in the chest cavity, but I would like to learn.
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I think the fluid you’re referring to is related with a condition called “pericardial effusion”.
Basically, our hearts are covered by a sort of sac – the “pericardial sac” – that’s filled with a fluid. This fluid is an exudate with proteins, lymphocytes and other components.
What does it do ? Well this fluid inside the sac helps with lubricating the outside of the heart so it doesn’t “scratch” itself against other organs whenever it expands when pumping blood.
Sometimes, people with heart problems tend to accumulate this fluid inside the pericardial sac. This leads to bad things such as preventing the heart from contracting and dilating and so it worsens the heart problem.
On the other hand. If this sac is getting bigger and bigger, all the surrounding organs (the lungs) start to get compressed and so it affects them too.
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