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Carol M. Headley, DNSc, RN, CNN

Carol M. Headley, DNSc, RN, CNN, is Nephrology Advanced Practice Nurse at The VA Medical Center, Memphis, TN. She is ANNA’s National Program chairperson and a member of ANNA’s Memphis Blues Chapter.

Barry M. Wall, MD

Barry M. Wall, MD, is Professor of Medicine at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, and Nephrology, Associate Chief at The VA Medical Center, Memphis, TN.

Flash pulmonary edema, also termed acute onset pulmonary edema, is characterized by the sudden onset of respiratory distress related to accumulation of fluid in the lung interstitium over a matter of minutes or hours. Chronic kidney disease is often associated with predisposing cardiac risk factors that make patients susceptible to development of flash pulmonary edema. This article highlights the connection between cardiac pathologies found in chronic kidney disease and development of flash pulmonary edema. Nephrology nurses may be instrumental in reducing the risk of flash pulmonary edema by recognizing symptoms of heart failure and need for treatment of acute elevations in blood pressure.