Heart failure and leg swelling

[LC22]

Hi, anyone advice on wether swollen ankles should be raised when in bed or is it when sat in a chair?

[RufusScamp]

I assume you have seen your GP or other health worker.

I find mine goes down in bed without being raised, but I prop it up if I am sitting for any length of time.

[Hidden]

Hello

I get swollen ankles in the day I have been told to raise them but when I have been to bed they are not swollen and gone down without the need to raise them

If you are still waking up and they are swollen you really need to see your Doctor as they should go down overnight and if you have not mentioned to your Doctor about them swelling in the day then you should so they can check everything is ok

Let us know how you get on x

[Hidden]

A warm welcome to you and your first post { one of many we hope }

In a simple word then both, as long as your medical team knows the reason for the swelling then yes leg {s} raised in bed and when sitting will help.

Walking is really good if it is allowed as it helps pump the fluid back, massaging the area also helped I found.

Take care

[francesw47]

Hello and welcome to the forum! From your post, can we assume that you have HF? It would be a good idea to speak to a nurse or a GP and discuss with them...its clearly bothering you.

I too have HF and my ankles swell a lot of the time. I also have some fluid on my lungs which no-one seemed at all bothered about until a blood test came back with low sodium levels - will be repeated in early January to check. I keep my legs elevated when sitting down and as others have said the worst of the swelling goes down overnight. I fully expect the docs to start fiddling about with my diuretic meds if this goes on. I keep an eye on my weight as well - and it has gone up a bit recently (too many mince pies is probably the answer!) and exercise (walking) as much as I can. But when in doubt put your legs up if at all possible and speak to someone at your surgery/HF nurse if you have one.

Do let us know a bit more about you - hopefully this will be your first post of many.

[CyclingTime]

You could just put a pillow down the bottom of the bed and use that, it will provide a small rise

[Davey77]

My GP told me that the single pillow I had my legs up on in bed was not high enough. I put a rolled up sleeping bag along the foot of the bed and noticed quite an improvement. Sometimes a little difficult to get comfortable, but being almost the whole width of the bed helps. Conversely, putting a pillow on top of my footstool, raised my legs too high and strained my hip.

[fishonabike]

as Blue 1958 says, both is best - if you find it tricky in bed try putting something under the foot end of the mattress to lift that