It sounds more like pedal edema. It happens quite commonly in older patients. The cause is from years of high blood pressure the heart muscle has stretched a little and does not work so well anymore. In pedal edema the right side of the heart does not work so well, and the fluid backup seeps from the veins into the tissues (interstitial space). Have your friend go for a checkup at a GP with maybe a reference to a cardiologist. There are other causes as well, but this is the most common we see.
