Characteristics of a cough caused by heart failure

The cough associated with heart failure is typically a dry cough, which means that it does not produce phlegm. The cough is dry because usually there is no increased fluid or phlegm in the bronchial tubes. Rather, the swelling inside the walls of the bronchial tubes and lung tissue itself causes irritation, which stimulates a cough.

ACE inhibitor medicines, which may be used to treat heart failure, can cause a similar dry cough, which may lead to some confusion as to whether the cough is caused by heart failure or the medicines.

In severe heart failure, blood backing up in the lungs may be severe enough to cause fluid to leak out into the air space. This can cause the person to cough up fluid that is either clear or pink and frothy.

People with heart failure may also wheeze in addition to coughing. This wheezing is similar to the wheezing that people with asthma or lung cancer experience. The wheezing associated with heart failure is sometimes called "cardiac asthma" and develops because the airways in the lungs narrow because of the buildup of fluid in the lungs.