Everyday symptoms
Swollen Ankles After 60? 5 Causes and When It's Serious | Heart Nurse
Educational only, not medical advice. Talk to your own doctor, nurse practitioner or pharmacist. In an emergency, call 911.
What this video covers
Swollen ankles after 60 are a symptom, not simply a part of getting older. In this video, a heart nurse walks through the five real causes and helps you work out which one may be yours. That matters, because putting your feet up helps one cause and does nothing for another, and a compression stocking that helps one person can harm someone else.
You will learn about worn-out vein valves, the most common cause after 50; the calf muscle pump and a free 20-second fix; medicines such as amlodipine that can make ankles swell; the cluster of heart warning signs nurses actually look for; and the one-sided pattern that can mean a blood clot. Nurse Ade then explains what helps, in order, and why your circulation should be checked before you start compression stockings. One safety rule to remember: if one leg swells suddenly and is painful, warm or red, get it checked the same day. A swollen leg with chest pain, breathlessness, coughing blood or feeling faint is an emergency, so call 911.
Key points
- Veins: worn-out valves, the most common cause after 50
- The calf muscle pump, and the free 20 second fix
- Pills: amlodipine and other medicines that can swell your ankles
- Heart: the warning cluster we actually look for
- One side only: the pattern that can mean a blood clot
- What helps, in order, and why to get your circulation checked before compression stockings
Chapters
- 0:00 The ring in your ankle
- 1:42 Valves and a pump: how the climb works
- 2:56 VEINS: the answer for most people
- 4:25 PUMP: the free fix nobody mentions
- 5:26 PILLS: the one in your medicine cabinet
- 7:21 HEART: what we actually look for
- 8:48 ONE SIDE: the pattern that changes everything
- 10:15 What actually helps, in order
- 12:00 Your one-minute job
