Fast heart rates and rapid breathing. Chest pain, especially with inhaling. Some people have low oxygen levels. They may have bluish nails and lips from the severely decreased oxygen levels in the blood.

Pathophysiology. In ARDS, the injured lung is believed to go through three phases: exudative, proliferative, and fibrotic, but the course of each phase and the overall disease progression is variable.

The underlying mechanism involves diffuse injury to cells which form the barrier of the microscopic air sacs of the lungs, surfactant dysfunction, activation of the immune system, and dysfunction of the body’s regulation of blood clotting.

Pleurisy (PLOOR-ih-see) is a condition in which the pleura — two large, thin layers of tissue that separate your lungs from your chest wall — becomes inflamed. Also called pleuritis, pleurisy causes sharp chest pain (pleuritic pain) that worsens during breathing.

Acute lung injury is a disorder of acute inflammation that causes disruption of the lung endothelial and epithelial barriers. The alveolar–capillary membrane is comprised of the microvascular endothelium, interstitium, and alveolar epithelium.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, is an inflammatory lung injury that happens when fluids build up in small air sacs (called alveoli) in the lungs. ARDS prevents the lungs from filling up with air and causes dangerously low oxygen levels in the blood (hypoxemia).

The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a condition in which the lungs become very inflamed. This causes fluid to leak out of the blood vessels of the lungs and flood the lungs’ air sacs (alveoli). Inflammation also causes some cells to accumulate in the air sacs, and it may cause some air sacs to collapse.

Symptoms of acute respiratory distress syndrome. The symptoms of ARDS typically appear between one to three days after the injury or trauma. Common symptoms and signs of ARDS include: labored and rapid breathing. muscle fatigue and general weakness. low blood pressure. discolored skin or nails.

Treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome is supportive and includes mechanical ventilation, prophylaxis for stress ulcers and venous thromboembolism, nutritional support, and treatment of the underlying injury .

Respiratory distress can result from a variety of causes. Anxiety, infections, heart failure, asthma, pulmonary emboli ( blood clots to the lung), and neurologic dysfunction are just of few of the causes of respiratory distress.

Definition of respiratory distress syndrome. : a respiratory disorder chiefly of newborn premature infants that is characterized by deficiency of the surfactant coating the inner surface of the lungs resulting in labored breathing, lung collapse, and hypoxemia — compare acute respiratory distress syndrome.