What Causes Heavy Legs?

Heavy legs can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'serious' to 'critical'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose heavy legs, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "heavy legs" as a symptom. Here are three possibilities:

Poor Circulation
Heart Disease
Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

major unexplained weight loss

much reduced sense of taste

history of birth control pill use

recent onset hypertension

often/always feeling unusually cold

poor bodily coordination

pain in chest or left side

history of heart attack

specific muscle weakness

very high LDL cholesterol level

recent onset fatigue

short-term low-carb dieting

... and more than 20 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of heavy legs:

Cause	Probability	Status
Poor Circulation	93%	Confirm
Heart Disease	28%	Unlikely
Guillain-Barre Syndrome	5%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate problems with limbs, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Do your legs ever feel 'heavy', making it difficult to stand up, climb stairs, walk or stand?

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ No
→ Sometimes slightly
→ Often slightly / sometimes severely
→ Often severely

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate either no heaviness in the legs or heaviness of the legs, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Coronary Disease / Heart Attack

Tired and heavy legs may indicate that the return blood flow from the legs to the heart is impaired. Gravity and impaired veins combined with possible heart problems result in oxygen-depletion in the legs, producing that heavy, tired feeling.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Poor Circulation

Heaviness Of The Legs