Why We're Concerned About Edema and Leg Swelling

You started to notice your leg swelling after a long flight or after sitting for hours in a car — your ankles and feet became a little puffy thanks to long periods of inactivity. These days, your leg swelling is more of a constant companion, and the issue seems to only be getting worse.

Called edema, this type of leg swelling is a common reason why patients come to see us. At our practice, Dr. James Kim is a board-certified cardiovascular disease specialist, and he understands all too well that leg swelling can be a harbinger of cardiovascular disease, which affects more than 121 million adults in the United States.

Here, we dive into why leg swelling should grab your attention, and why it’s a good idea to have us check to see whether the issue is related to your cardiovascular health.

What’s behind the leg swelling?

We want to first acknowledge that leg swelling is a very general symptom, one that can be related to any number of issues. Here, we’re specifically discussing a type of leg swelling called edema, which stems from fluid buildup in your lower extremities.

This fluid buildup isn’t painful, but it can be uncomfortable. Often, elevating your legs can help relieve the edema, but if it returns quickly after you put your feet back down, there’s likely an underlying cardiovascular issue, such as:

Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI)

With CVI, which is found in at least 25 million American adults, the valves in the veins of your legs are weakened and don’t close all the way. Under normal circumstances, these valves help your veins to push blood back up to your heart by closing off when blood passes through.

When you have CVI, the valves don’t close all the way, which allows blood to spill backward. The veins can then engorge, and you can develop varicose veins. You could also develop edema, which occurs because the pressure of the blood forces fluid out of the vein and into surrounding tissues.

Heart failure

For the nearly 7 million adults in the United States who have heart failure, the lower chambers of their hearts aren’t functioning well, which causes blood to back up. This backup often first shows up at the lowest points of your body — your feet, ankles, and lower legs.

Other issues can also lead to edema, such as pregnancy, thyroid disease, and hypertension medications. That’s why it’s important to have us investigate the underlying cause of your leg swelling.

How we treat cardiovascular-related edema

If, after our evaluation, we find a cardiovascular-related reason why you’re experiencing edema in your lower legs, we get to work on addressing that specific condition.

While we do that, you can take steps to relieve the swelling and puffiness in your lower legs, such as:

Exercising more
Elevating your legs
Curbing your intake of salt
Drinking more water
Wearing compression socks
Not sitting for long periods

Anything you can do to improve circulation in your lower legs goes a long way toward reducing your edema. Of course, we’re happy to come up with a more individualized plan specific to your lifestyle and requirements.

For expert diagnosis and treatment of your leg swelling, your first step is to contact us at one of our offices in Chula Vista or National City, California, to schedule a consultation.