Final answer:
The bilateral ankle edema noted in a client with peripheral vascular disease is related to increased venous pressure often caused by incompetent venous valves, which leads to pooling of blood and water leakage from capillaries into the tissues.
Step-by-step explanation:
When assessing the lower extremities of a client with peripheral vascular disease (PVD), and noting bilateral ankle edema, the correct answer to the associated etiology of the edema is increased venous pressure. This condition, edema, is the accumulation of excess water in the tissues, often occurring due to an increase in pressure within veins. The physiological causes of edema involve water leakage from blood capillaries into the surrounding tissues due to increased venous pressure, often resulting from incompetent venous valves or obstruction, leading to the pooling of blood. Muscle contractions normally aid in pushing blood up against gravity, but in PVD and other conditions that cause edema, such as the use of certain medications or prolonged standing, this mechanism can be overwhelmed or impaired. Peripheral vascular disease is often characterized by symptoms like edema due to the restriction in blood flow and pressure changes in the limbs.