swollen legs and hands indicate heart disease?

[alimarch]

i have swollen legs and hands almost daily and my new doctor says she is surprised I don't have heart problems. what's up what that??? i have gained a lot of weight and am about 79 lbs overweight now. My blood pressure seems to be higher than it should be on a somewhat regular basis, but not often enough to be deemed as hypertensive. if i lose a ton of weight can i reverse any/all problems?

[Mom2four85]

Do you take NSaids? I'm asking because my primary told me at my last visit that Nsaids such as Ibuprofen can cause swelling, which I've taken for many years for various reasons and she thought may be the reason for my swelling.

I was told a few times back in 2004 when I complained of some problems to doctors, that if I JUST lost weight all my problems would go away.  I became obsessed with losing weight because dr's told me that's what was causing my problems; just lose that extra 30 - 40 lbs and life will be perfect!

I lost weight, exercised even more and added jogging to my walking routine...then my worst health problems started.  I've always exercised no matter how much I weighed, and never really eaten that bad or overeaten but just gained weight.  I've had thyroid problems since 1998 treated for awhile and then a dr decided to take me off meds and said I didn't need them; which is now questioned by new doctors.

After 2 years of hard work and struggling to keep the weight off, my heart stopped, I had roughly 50,000 pvc's, developed heart failure symptoms, cardiomyopathy and LV dysfunction and my ANS (autonomic nervous system) went out of whack and caused me all sorts of problems.

My bloodwork is perfect and always has been - all across the board even numbers and I had a cardiac cath that showed I had no plaque which is pretty good in your mid 40's.  

I seem healthy as a horse, yet dr's still do not have a clue what caused my problems or my heart to stop and get all funky, so for me losing weight was not the 'cure all' dr's thought it may be, hopefully for you it will be.  It could have been the lowered calorie diet I was on or my electrolytes off kilter but I don't think so.

Please be very cautious about symptoms and problems that may occur with diet plans; supplements & weight loss.  Let me know how it's going and PM me if you need anything or want to talk =)

[ed34]

I don't think I'm in the same boat as Vienna on this one. It sounds as though you are retaining too much body fluid and there are some possible very serious causes for this. I assume your legs and hands swell as the day progresses?
Has your Doctor done Kidney and Liver function tests? What heart tests have you had?
Your weight gain is understandable if you are suddenly retaining a lot more body fluid and exercise will not shift this. In fact, a lot of exercise could make you very ill depending on the underlying cause.

[vienna13]

My answer Absolutely YES!
Very good you have your mind set up that way. Lets got rid of the extra kilos and see  from there.
Never give up, I know easier to say, but at least it is in our power: if we do enough exercise and we should!
That reminds me I better go and do the same.:)
Best luck to you!