Congestive Heart Failure & Cankles

It seems that all women have their trouble spots on their body. One of the most famous body trouble spots has birthed a new word - Cankles. Here is the urbandictionary.com definition of cankles:

n. 1) An aesthetically unfortunate physiological condition which leaves its victims with no discernable narrowing of the ankle between the calf and the foot. 2) An ankle which has no discernable narrowing from the calf to the foot. History: The word is derived a combination of the words calf and ankle. Victims of this condition are advised to avoid the following: ankle boots, ankle-strap shoes, anklets, ankle socks, ankle tattoos, high-top shoes, and any other footwear or legwear that might draw attention to the cankle region.
Kelly has a classic case of cankles -- her calves are the same width from knee to foot.

When I go to the cardiologist, he does these three things before he listens to my heart. Number 1 - he will feel my pulse. Number 2 - he will look at my ankles. Number 3 - he will listen to the lungs. Number 2 and 3 are investigative steps to see if I'm retaining water. The reason why he checks for water retention is because it is a sign of Congestive Heart Failure.

In fact, you may not know this but the way people die of Congestive Heart Failure is by drowning. CHF patients drown in their own fluids. However, CHF can take years and months to develop so intervention is possible. That's why I'm having my surgery so that I don't have to have cankles and so that I won't have to drown in my own fluids.

You're probably wondering if I'm retaining water right now. The answer is yes I am. I take a medication called Lasix or Furosemide which is a diuretic. It basically makes you pee over and over again until it dries you out. I have been noticing water retention in my tummy area which has made bending over to show off my tramp stamp very difficult (just kidding mom).

I have to admit that the water retention is discouraging because it means that my Congestive Heart Failure is real and is not some sort of disease that only 3rd world and geriatric patients get. So next time, you happen to be standing beside me at the urinal please don't forget to say, "I'm glad your getting rid of your cankles."

Below is a youtube video that provides a relatively comprehensive explanation of Congestive Heart Failure. Enjoy!