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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Hypertension and edema
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Hypertension and edema
by DebieR, Feb 09, 1999 12:00AM
I have a history of Hypertension going back to my mid-20s. I am now 43, overweight, but have always had very trim legs and ankles. I have hashimotos thyroiditis and take synthroid, had a complete hysterectomy 10 years ago and take premarin and estrace. I have had my blood pressure medication changed countless times because it keeps going up. I recently was on 20 mg. vasotec twice a day, 20 mg. catapress, 360 mg. Covera HS, and 20 mg. diazide. My legs started becoming very bloated and my bp was 165/110. My physician stopped the diazide and gave me lasix. The bp went down, but the swelling didn't. He took me off covera, doubled the vasotec and doubled the catapress. I moved out of the state and haven't seen a doctor because my new insurance hasn't gone into effect yet. I still have some trouble with swelling. I believe the bp is near normal. My doctor mentioned a possible problem with my kidneys but didn't pursue it. My question is what relationship could their be to my kidneys? How should I search for a doctor. I really feel like I need a doctor who has treated a lot of difficult cases because it seems like I have been through a lot of treatment over this. Please advise.
Doctor's Answer
by CCF CARDIO MD APS, Feb 09, 1999 12:00AM
_
Dear Debbie,
Yours is not a simple case of hypertension, and you should seek an evaluation by a renal/hypertension
specialist (found at most major university hospitals); this is a physician who will not only search for
potential reversible causes of your hypertension, s/he will treat it more aggressively as well as fully evaluate the
kidneys (the damage that hypertension can do to the kidneys is great and for this reason alone you should seek such care asap.)
If the kidneys are malfunctioning and not holding on to protein well enough, then this can lead to leg swelling; keep in mind Debbie
that there are multiple causes of swelling in the legs as well as multiple causes of kidneys malfunctioning, not just hypertension.
You certainly need evaluation to figure this all out in the near future.
I hope this information is useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for
general purposes only. Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies.
Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck!
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please
call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at
www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the
cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your
cardiac problem.
