What Your Legs Are Trying to Tell You About Your Health

Описание: What Your Legs and Feet Can Reveal About Your Health

Changes in your lower limbs often signal what’s happening inside your heart, vessels, or circulation. Here’s what each clue can mean:

🩵 Bulging, twisted veins → Often varicose veins. These are dilated, twisted superficial veins caused by weakened valves and poor venous return. They appear as blue or bulging veins on the legs or feet. The CEAP C2 stage defines visible, tortuous veins as a hallmark of varicose vein disease (PMID: 29493956).

💧 Swelling in both ankles → May relate to heart, kidney, or pregnancy. Bilateral swelling can occur when circulation slows or venous pressure rises. Chronic venous disease causes heaviness, aching, and edema that worsen with prolonged standing (PMID: 30758738; 9933194).

🥶 Cold, pale feet with pain on walking → Suggests poor circulation from peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Narrowed arteries restrict blood flow, leading to cool or pale feet and cramping pain during walking, known as intermittent claudication (PMID: 28613496; 25435653).

🔥 One calf red, hot, and swollen → Can indicate a blood clot (DVT). Classic signs include one-sided warmth, redness, tenderness, and swelling from venous obstruction. Risk factors include immobility, trauma, cancer, pregnancy, and certain genetic clotting disorders.

🩸 Sores on toes or ankles that don’t heal → May come from poor blood flow due to advanced PAD. Reduced circulation prevents oxygen from reaching tissues, delaying healing. Non-healing ulcers on the toes, feet, or ankles are warning signs of severe PAD and risk for gangrene if untreated.

💡 Takeaway: Persistent swelling, color change, or pain in your legs shouldn’t be ignored—they often reveal hidden vascular or systemic disease long before other symptoms appear.

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