"removed the equivalent of several liter bottles of fluid from around his heart."
That's not CHF. That's pericardial effusion.
"That's not CHF. That's pericardial effusion."
A patient with pericardial effusion from mets would likely develop CHF as a consequence of the effusion. The effusion would affect stroke volume and therefore CO; such a patient could easily develop CHF as well as pulmonary edema under such conditions. I bet he had both.
I hope the patient did not suffer too much, although I suspect he was a very sick man.