My elderly great uncle, who is 94, has recently started having deep purple legs all the time. They are cold to the touch. He does have aortic stenosis, and the doctors decided that doing any sort of surgery on him would be too dangerous because he is so weak. He is sleepy almost all the time. The nurses told us that the cause of his purple legs is related to his heart not being strong enough to pump blood to his extremities. Anyone else have experience with this? What does it mean for his health in general? Is his heart just going to continue to fail? He is unaware that there is anything wrong with him, and in general is very happy (when he is awake). Thanks for any help!Friday, August 26, 2011
Cause Of Purple Legs In The Elderly?
My elderly great uncle, who is 94, has recently started having deep purple legs all the time. They are cold to the touch. He does have aortic stenosis, and the doctors decided that doing any sort of surgery on him would be too dangerous because he is so weak. He is sleepy almost all the time. The nurses told us that the cause of his purple legs is related to his heart not being strong enough to pump blood to his extremities. Anyone else have experience with this? What does it mean for his health in general? Is his heart just going to continue to fail? He is unaware that there is anything wrong with him, and in general is very happy (when he is awake). Thanks for any help!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Kahr H - Poor circulation or blood supply to the legs that is cut off can cause purple legs. Heart failure in elderly is common and increasingly so with each year older they get.
ReplyDeleteSo long as your uncle is in good hands just try to enjoy his time left with you and not think about whether he has weeks/months/years left to live.
Tigger - Poor circulation, he should keep them up on a foot stool or recliner up...
ReplyDelete