Introduction
Flash pulmonary edema (FPE) is a remarkable and life-threatening condition caused by an imbalance in the fluid homeostasis in the pulmonary vascular bed, which results from elevated left-sided cardiac filling pressures along with endothelial dysfunction and increased permeability of pulmonary capillaries.(1, 2)
Common causes of FPE are myocardial ischemia, hypertensive emergencies, tachyarrhythmias, and acute mitral or aortic valve regurgitation. Bilateral atheromatous renovascular disease and pheochromocytoma are also other predisposing factors.(3)
FPE can occur during cardiac catheterization procedures at any time. The immediate diagnosis and management of this critical condition are imperative to stabilize the patient as soon as possible and prevent unfortunate consequences.
This report presents a 51-year-old female with a history of hypertension, degenerated bioprosthetic aortic valve, and severe valvular dysfunction who was a candidate for redo valve surgery and developed acute FPE before coronary angiography.