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What Causes Swelling In Hands And Feet With Difficulty In Breathing?
My father is 85 and his legs and feet have been swelling for a year or so, but swelling went down at night after sleeping. Recently, his swelling has become worse and often does not go down after a night s sleep. He has indicated that he has congestive heart failure and his breathing is very labored. Over the weekend, he told me that he noticed that his toes on one foot were turning black. His dr. has put him on Lasix, but he is reluctant to take it for going to the bathroom all the time, and he said that is rarely does much to reduce the swelling. He does sit with his legs up most of the time, and takes more rests with his legs up. Can you offer any more suggestions to him, and is the blackening of the toes related to the CHF, or just the circulation getting worse to his feet? Thank you.
Mon, 20 Jul 2020
Hello,
As per my clinical experience, complex considerations are needed in case of your father. The edema legs and hands are from circulatory failure with underlying heart failure. As the supportive therapy consists of diuretic to clear the extra fluid from the tissues and he is not willing to take the lasix, edema gets increase.
The blackening of toes indicate circulatory compromise via arterial blockage either via atherosclerosis or embolism. A peripheral Doppler ultrasound is a must after clinical examination of the peripheral pulsations via expert consultant surgeon or vascular specialist.
Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Bhagyesh V. Patel, General Surgeon
As per my clinical experience, complex considerations are needed in case of your father. The edema legs and hands are from circulatory failure with underlying heart failure. As the supportive therapy consists of diuretic to clear the extra fluid from the tissues and he is not willing to take the lasix, edema gets increase.
The blackening of toes indicate circulatory compromise via arterial blockage either via atherosclerosis or embolism. A peripheral Doppler ultrasound is a must after clinical examination of the peripheral pulsations via expert consultant surgeon or vascular specialist.
Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Bhagyesh V. Patel, General Surgeon
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