Elastic socks and heart health

About three months ago, I started wearing compression stockings because I’ve been dealing with some varicose vein issues. But then, about a month back, I started noticing this weird, fleeting little ache on my left side right near my collarbone. My doctor actually listened to my heart with a stethoscope and told me everything sounded perfectly fine, so he isn't worried about it.

To be honest, though, it feels like all the blood pressure is being pushed up toward my upper body, almost like my heart is working under this extra layer of tension.

Has anyone else ever dealt with something like this?

Is anyone else going through something similar to this?

Ethan Gonzalez2 said:About three months ago, I started wearing compression stockings because I’ve been dealing with some varicose vein issues. But then, about a month back, I started noticing this weird, fleeting little ache on my left side right near my collarbone. My doctor actually listened to my heart with a stethoscope and told me everything sounded perfectly fine, so he isn't worried about it.

To be honest, though, it feels like all the blood pressure is being pushed up toward my upper body, almost like my heart is working under this extra layer of tension.

Has anyone else ever dealt with something like this?

Hey, did you ever actually check in with a doctor about wearing those compression socks before?

Yeah, I mean, he didn't say anything about it affecting my heart rate at all.

Scott Allen10 said:Hey, did you ever actually check in with a doctor about wearing those compression socks before?

Honestly, just popping on compression socks without actually checking in with a doctor isn't the smartest move, and I mean that more as a general rule of thumb rather than just talking about your specific situation.
I really don't think that pain you're feeling has anything to do with your heart, especially not because of the socks or that feeling you have that they're putting extra strain on your cardiac system.
Using compression gear is pretty much a standard way to handle things like blood clot prevention in the large veins of your legs, which is huge because if a clot breaks loose and heads toward your lungs, it can cause a massive pulmonary embolism—which is obviously a life-threatening emergency.
As for those surface veins you mentioned that probably prompted you to start wearing them in the first place, I don't think there’s a direct magic fix there, though wearing the socks or using wraps is still usually recommended.
To be real, staying active is way more important than the socks—like, avoiding sitting or standing for hours on end or lifting heavy stuff... and honestly, if the issue is really obvious, just getting a quick sclerotherapy procedure on those problematic veins is usually the way to go.

Thanks for getting back to me.

I should probably mention that I actually had a procedure to close off a superficial vein in my right leg about ten years ago. Even so, these veins have started popping up in all sorts of other spots, including my left leg, so whenever I’m stuck sitting at my desk for long stretches at work, my legs tend to swell up. Because of that, my doctor ended up putting me in compression stockings.