Pulmonary oedema – where excess fluid collects in the air sacs of the lungs – can cause difficulty breathing and needs urgent hospital treatment, with the added risk of drowning when swimming.
Experts say it is not clear what causes the condition but is likely to include both an increase in pressure and exaggerated constriction in the blood vessels that supply the lungs, caused by the cold temperatures and increased blood flow during physical exertion.
Older women or those with high blood pressure and pre-existing heart disease are at particular risk but the condition although it ‘frequently’ occurs in those who are otherwise fit and healthy, they found.
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