Heart and circulatory diseases are one of the biggest killers in the UK. According to the British Heart Foundation, heart and circulatory diseases are responsible for around 160,000 deaths every single year, the equivalent of 460 every day. With rates set to rise, it is crucial to do all that is necessary to reduce the risk of heart disease occurring. Furthermore, it is incumbent on all to look out for signs of the condition so appropriate action can be taken.
The body can give off a range of signals when it is not in full health; with heart disease, one of these signs is present when someone takes off their socks and shoes.
If, when the aforementioned socks are taken off, there are sock marks left on the ankles this can be a sign of peripheral oedema.
Peripheral oedema is the medical term for water retention in the feet and legs, and this causes them to swell; it’s also a sign of problems with the heart.
As a result, if someone is wearing socks, this will cause those socks to leave marks on the skin.
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Peripheral oedema can be a sign of one the most dangerous forms of heart disease, heart failure.
When the heart is not pumping as efficiently as it should, fluid can leak out from the blood vessels and into surrounding tissue.
Although most people who have peripheral oedema don’t have heart disease, it can be a sign of cardiovascular problems.
Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists say: “Persistent problems with oedema could be a sign that your heart isn’t functioning properly. A more serious cause of peripheral oedema is congestive heart failure, a condition in which your heart is too weak to pump blood efficiently.”
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Why cases of heart failure could rise in the future
The number of people with heart failure could rise in the future; the reason for this is another disease which affects the cardiovascular system, COVID-19.
According to a report published in the BMJ (British Medical Journal): “Those who had had [mild] COVID-19 had a 72 percent increased risk of heart failure.”
The researchers said the increased risk was “evident regardless of age, race, sex, and other cardiovascular risk factors, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and hyperlipidaemia”.
Furthermore, the risk was also “evident in people without any cardiovascular disease before exposure to COVID-19, providing evidence that these risks might manifest even in people at low risk of cardiovascular disease”, added the authors.
As a result, there are predictions of a wave of cardiovascular cases in the coming years and decades as the full impact of the pandemic is felt.
While Britain attempts to survive the next two days of 40-degree temperatures, Covid continues to spread.
Combined with hospital admissions due to the heatwave, this will only add to the extra pressure on the NHS.
Source: Daily Express
