About the data: We used the family income data from the 2013 American Community Survey. This counts only families, which the government defines as households with two or more people related by birth, marriage or adoption. The graph focuses on families living in the country's 30 most populous cities.
Congestive heart failure. When one or both of your heart's lower chambers lose their ability to pump blood effectively â as happens in congestive heart failure â the blood can back up in your legs, ankles and feet, causing edema. Heart failure can also cause swelling in your abdomen. Sometimes it can cause fluid to accumulate in your lungs (pulmonary edema), which can lead to shortness of breath. Cirrhosis. Fluid may accumulate in your abdominal cavity (ascites) and in your legs as a result of liver damage (cirrhosis).
A very common place to see edema is in the feet, ankles and lower legs. Edema is fluid build up which may occur in any part of your body. However, due of the effects of gravity, the fluid more commonly appears as painless swelling in the lower legs.ommon Causes of Peripheral Edema. As a person gets on in years, he or she is more likely to have a gathering of edema fluid in their lower legs when they stand or sit too long. They may also see a tightness and swelling the shoes and socks are removed at the end of the day.