Hypervolemia

Hypervolemia, or fluid overload, is the medical condition where there is too much fluid in the blood.

The opposite condition is hypovolemia, which is too little fluid volume in the blood.

Causes
Excessive sodium or fluid intake:
 * IV therapy
 * Transfusion reaction by blood transfusions.
 * High intake of sodium

Sodium or water retention:
 * Heart failure
 * Liver cirrhosis
 * Nephrotic syndrome
 * Corticosteroid therapy
 * Hyperaldosteronism
 * Low protein intake

Fluid shift into the intravascular space:
 * Fluid remobilization after burn treatment
 * Administration of hypertonic fluids, e.g. mannitol or hypertonic saline solution
 * Administration of plasma proteins, such as albumin

Symptoms
The excess fluid, primarily salt and water, builds up in various locations in the body and leads to an increase in weight, swelling in the legs and arms (peripheral edema), and / or fluid in the abdomen (ascites). Eventually, the fluid enters the air spaces in the lungs, reduces the amount of oxygen that can enter the blood, and causes shortness of breath (dyspnea). Fluid can also collect in the lungs when lying down at night, possibly making nighttime breathing and sleeping difficult (paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea).

Complications
Congestive heart failure is the most common result of fluid overload. Also, it may cause hyponatremia (hypervolemic hyponatremia).