Clinical Presentation - Circulatory Overload
Circulatory overload begins within hours of transfusion. General symptoms include headache, dry cough, and chest pain. More specific signs and symptoms include:
- coughing
- wheezing
- dyspnea
- cyanosis
- tachycardia
- hypertension
- pedal edema
- pulmonary edema
Mechanism
Very young or very old patients with underlying congestive heart failure or chronic anemia and an expanded blood volume are most at risk. When too much blood is transfused too quickly, these patients cannot handle the increased volume and develop heart failure and acute pulmonary edema.