Hello! My boyfriend is 69. For a month or so his legs and feet have been swollen. He sleeps sitting up and I have had him elevate them but it does not seem to help. He doesn t seem to have any other symptoms except a cough that has hung on from a virus during the holidays. He works on his feet every day. He is a Vietnam veteran and trying to get an appointment with VA is impossible. He won t go to emergency because he thinks he is fine. Is he? Thank you
HI, thanks for using Chat Doctor Persistent swelling of the lower limbs can be due to different possible causes such as : (1) side effect of medication-for example a blood pressure medication called amlodipine, commonly causes this side effect(2)heart disease-this is also a complication particularly of heart failure. In this case, there may be a previous history of high blood pressure or angina or high cholesterol. There is sometimes a history of shortness of breath as well(3)liver or kidney disease can also cause this complication(4)varicose veins-dilated veins in the legs can cause swelling. If these are present and there are no indicators of the above, then this is a possible cause. It would be best for him to be assessed. If there are no heart symptoms, no history of kidney or liver disease, the assessment does not need to be as an emergency but should be done. It would require physical examination and blood tests. I hope this helps