Suggest Treatment For Swelling In The Feet And Legs

Posted on Thu, 3 Nov 2016

Question: I AM 76 YEA OLD MALE I GET SWELING IN MY FEET AND LEGS A LOT OF LEG DISCOMFORT THE SWELLING HAPENS QUICKLY AND IS SEVERVE ENOUGH THAT FINGER PRINTS ARE LEFT IN THE SKIN. DO I NEED NEW DOC? IS THE BEST THING GET NEW IN MORING NEW START?
IN ADDITION, ZOCOR 20 MLG

Answered by Dr. Dr. Meriton Siqeca (24 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Sign of congestive heart failure

Detailed Answer:
Hello Sir, and welcome to HCM. I carefully read your query.

Lower limb oedema - ankle swelling - is a symptom of congestive heart failure, which is produced as a result of impedance of returning the blood into the failing heart, which results in more fluid containment in the periphery, hence the swelling. At this point, I would recommend you to consult your cardiologist, and an echo cardiogram (if not carried out in the last three months), should be done, and the function of the heart should be reassessed. Secondly, the dosage of diuretics (furosemide) should be modified, to help excessive fluid elimination. Also, depending on the severity of peripheral oedema, it may be required for you to be admitted to the hospital for a couple of days, until the situation is ameliorated and if intravenous diuretics are indicated at this point.

I hope you find my answer helpful. I am happy to help, if you have follow-up questions.

Kind regards,
Dr. Meriton

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng