Bits of fluid in lungs

[maerca]

Hi
I am 43 years old and just went for a breast MRI because of a strong family history.  My breast doctor called to say the breasts were fine, but they found bits of fluid in my lungs.  He said I am too young for this and should follow up with my regular doctor.  I am so confused right now, and am waiting to speak to my doctor.  Any idea what could cause this?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Fluid in the lungs may be due to cardiac causes or non cardiac causes.

Are you suffering from hypertension? High blood pressure is one of the causes of fluid in the lungs or pulmonary edema. It can be due to coronary artery disease,cardiomyopathy or heart valve disease. A detailed examination by a physician/cardiologist and investigations like ECG, Echocardiography and angiography can confirm the diagnosis.

Are you taking any antidiabetics or chemotherapy? It is also one of the causes of pulmonary edema. Lung infections like pneumonia ,exposure to certain chemicals like chlorine, ammonia or nitrogen dioxide, smoke inhalation and certain kidney diseases can also cause it.

Please visit your doctor and get yourself examined.

Do keep posting.

[HeinrikMD]

Hi,

There are two ways to explore this, first would be to explore any pertinent symptoms, and any risk factors for lung disease, infection, and heart diseases.

Kindd is talking about one kind of fluid, which is fluid within the airways. I am guessing the fluid mentioned in the MRI is fluid between the lung and the walls of the thoracic cage which is an effusion. While fluid in the airways can lead to effusions, not all effusions are due to fluid in the airways.

For people without any symptoms at all, then the suspicion would be along the lines of chronic, slow growing infections such as tuberculosis. Another possibility is immune-mediated diseases. Another possibility of course is cancer.

The breast MRI is not really a proper investigation of the lungs, hence I would also not be surprised if it turns out that the estimated fluid in that study may have been erroneously high. There is normal fluid between lung and thoracic wall (this serves to prevent injuring the lung during its normal expansion).