The purpose of thit reply is to convince you to visit you local Hospital Emergency Room right away. Swelling of the feet and ankles are severe side effects of Cardizem and Verapamil that you should report to your prescriber or health care professional as soon as possible.

This may be a sign of an adverse effect of Cardizem called fluid retention manifested as swollen ankles or a feeling of being bloated, weight gain, constipation, and flushing. To treat this, you may need a Diuretic, such as furosemide (Lasix) added to you treatment plan.

You must see a Physician about this fluid retension because it is a doubled-edged sword. It is one of the symptoms of HCM suggesting your current medication is not working and it is a side effect of your current medication that suggests an early warning sign of Heart Failure.

When the heart does not pump effectively, the body compensates in various ways. It starts to retain fluid and increase the volume of blood. This results in congestion of the veins, enlargement of the liver, and the accumulation of fluid in body cavities like the abdominal cavity (ascites) and in subcutaneous tissues, causing swelling (oedema) of the legs.

When there is localized retention, your doctor must determine the cause and treatment, especially since there is an underlying heart disease. Heart failure can occur at any moment, so an Emergency Physician can offer you treatment on an emergency basis until your Doctor can evaluate or determine the cause of swelling in you lower extremities.

Medical therapy is successful in the majority of patients, but for others surgery is the gold standard for relief of symptoms for patients who do not experience relief of symptoms from medications. Frequently, as a result of operation both the obstruction to ventricular outflow and the mitral regurgitation are significantly improved.

Hope this answers your question!

REFERENCE(S)

1. Better Health Channel (BHC), Fluid Retention (Online: BHC, 2006) http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Fluid_retention?OpenDocument

2. DrugDigest.org, Cardizem:What side effects may I notice from taking diltiazem?
(Online: ExpressScripts, 2006) http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,206|Cardizem,00.html#sideEffects

3. DrugDigest.org, Verapamil:What side effects may I notice from taking verapamil?
(Online: ExpressScripts, 2006) http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,701|Verapamil,00.html#sideEffects

4. Mayoclinic.com, Heart Disease: Cardiomyopathy (Online: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2006) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cardiomyopathy/DS00519/DSECTION=7

The purpose of this reply is to convince you to visit you local Hospital Emergency Room right away. Swelling of the feet and ankles are severe side effects of Cardizem and Verapamil that you should report to your prescriber or health care professional as soon as possible.

This may be a sign of an adverse effect of Cardizem called fluid retention manifested as swollen ankles or a feeling of being bloated, weight gain, constipation, and flushing. To treat this, you may need a Diuretic, such as furosemide (Lasix) added to you treatment plan.

You must see a Physician about this fluid retension because it is a doubled-edged sword. It is one of the symptoms of HCM suggesting your current medication is not working and it is a side effect of your current medication that suggests an early warning sign of Heart Failure.

When the heart does not pump effectively, the body compensates in various ways. It starts to retain fluid and increase the volume of blood. This results in congestion of the veins, enlargement of the liver, and the accumulation of fluid in body cavities like the abdominal cavity (ascites) and in subcutaneous tissues, causing swelling (oedema) of the legs.

When there is localized retention, your doctor must determine the cause and treatment, especially since there is an underlying heart disease. Heart failure can occur at any moment, so an Emergency Physician can offer you treatment on an emergency basis until your Doctor can evaluate or determine the cause of swelling in you lower extremities.

Medical therapy is successful in the majority of patients, but for others surgery is the gold standard for relief of symptoms for patients who do not experience relief of symptoms from medications. Frequently, as a result of operation both the obstruction to ventricular outflow and the mitral regurgitation are significantly improved.

Hope this answers your question!

REFERENCE(S)

1. Better Health Channel (BHC), Fluid Retention (Online: BHC, 2006) http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Fluid_retention?OpenDocument

2. DrugDigest.org, Cardizem:What side effects may I notice from taking diltiazem?
(Online: ExpressScripts, 2006) http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,206|Cardizem,00.html#sideEffects

3. DrugDigest.org, Verapamil:What side effects may I notice from taking verapamil?
(Online: ExpressScripts, 2006) http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,701|Verapamil,00.html#sideEffects

4. Mayoclinic.com, Heart Disease: Cardiomyopathy (Online: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2006) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cardiomyopathy/DS00519/DSECTION=7