would a heart attack??

Question

make your whole body swell up??? my husbands mom had a very bad heart attack and shes been in the hospital almost 2 weeks her blood presure is out of controll and shes a diabetic ..is weights about 130 but look like shes 350 lbs doctors say she will be lucky to make it threw this week..im worried cuz if she goes i want my husband to say good bye while shes still alive what would make her body swell so badly ?? i know it could be many things but i need some advice its sad shes only 52 yrs old

Answer 1

It sounds like her heart is under a lot of stress (heart attack and high blood pressure) and is not able to pump as effectively. The high blood pressure is likely a response that her body is producing to try to compensate for a failing heart. She likely has congestive heart failure, which can, and does, cause the swelling you speak of.

When blood cannot reach the organs well enough, then they can start to fail too. The kidneys are responsible for much of the fluid and electrolyte balance in the body. Low blood flow to the kidneys will make the edema (swelling) worse. She is also diabetic. Diabetes is a leading cause of kidney damage. There may have been subclinical (asymptomatic) kidney damage prior to this. The trouble with the heart may have been the straw that broke the camels back.

There are several other things that could be causing this, but these are the most likely. Please talk with her doctors to get the full story. They know her story better than I do, so they can offer more help. Best of luck.

Answer 2

You need to take her somewhere else if you can, somewhere that will take better care of her. It could be her diabetes that is causing her to swell up. Some more advanced cases of diabetes cause the body to retain water. There is also a certain heart condition that causes a backup of blood, starting in the feet and legs and moving upward. Neither is good, but her doctor should know what is causing this and do his best to help explain what is happening to her to all of you.

Answer 3

Sounds like she has some circulatory problems causing her to swell. They may have her on prednisone which causes swelling or it could be congestive heart failure that is causing it. Have your husband talk to the nurse and find out what her diagnosis are so you know what is going on.

Answer 4

If the doctor said she will be fortunate to make it through the week I would take his word, doctors are not prone to exaggeration when talking about life and death.

Answer 5

Have other factors like liver ascites, have been ruled out?any way sorry to read about your mother.