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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Swelling In The Ankles And Legs?

My husband's ankles and legs are swollen. He believes from his blood pressure medicine. He has not contacted his doctor yet. What should we do in the meantime? I failed at convincing him to go to the urgent care or ER. My husband is 44-yrs old who has been working on getting his BP down from high 170's for the past few months. A new doctor just added another BP med which makes a total of 4 perscriptions.
Fri, 8 Dec 2017
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Ayurveda Specialist 's  Response
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Thanks for contacting with your health concern

1. since he is taking prescription antihypertensive medications thus swelling could be due to right-sided heart failure, similarly, kidney disease also causes foot and ankle swelling, thus consult your primary care provider who might refer you to a Cardiologist for necessary cardiovascular examination and kidney function tests.

2. One urgent medical condition which has to be immediately excluded, as there is swelling in the ankle is DVT [deep vein thrombosis] so seek immediate medical intervention [vascular surgeon opinion] or visit an ER.

3. Chronic high blood pressure may lead to heart damage [hypertensive heart disease], retaining excess fluid in the body, which commonly leaks into the tissues, as such swelling of ankle/ lower legs and feet provide a classical example of heart failure, also some blood pressure medicine commonly the 'calcium channel blockers' do have documented side effects of causing swollen ankles, so Consult a Cardiologist [if medical emergency DVT is excluded]
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What Causes Swelling In The Ankles And Legs?

** Thanks for contacting with your health concern 1. since he is taking prescription antihypertensive medications thus swelling could be due to right-sided heart failure, similarly, kidney disease also causes foot and ankle swelling, thus consult your primary care provider who might refer you to a Cardiologist for necessary cardiovascular examination and kidney function tests. 2. One urgent medical condition which has to be immediately excluded, as there is swelling in the ankle is DVT [deep vein thrombosis] so seek immediate medical intervention [vascular surgeon opinion] or visit an ER. 3. Chronic high blood pressure may lead to heart damage [hypertensive heart disease], retaining excess fluid in the body, which commonly leaks into the tissues, as such swelling of ankle/ lower legs and feet provide a classical example of heart failure, also some blood pressure medicine commonly the calcium channel blockers do have documented side effects of causing swollen ankles, so Consult a Cardiologist [if medical emergency DVT is excluded]