3 Ways to Improve Your Heart Health
It may come as a surprise to you that all of us at Clifton Foot & Ankle Center observe American Heart Month every February. After all – what’s the heart got to do with foot health?
Plenty!
When your heart isn’t working properly, it’s not pumping blood efficiently. The feet can suffer from a lack of blood. Symptoms include cold toes, numbness and tingling, pain in the lower legs and feet, and difficulty healing from cuts and sores.
Avoiding heart-related foot issues is just one more reason to keep your heart healthy. Here are three ways to keep the blood flowing where it needs to go:
- Get regular exercise.
It doesn’t matter much what you choose – swimming, cycling, running, walking, pickleball, weightlifting, or a combination of all of the above. Move 30 minutes or more every day to strengthen your heart muscle and improve your overall circulation. - Curb two known vices: smoking and drinking.
One of the best things you can do to improve your heart health is to quit smoking. Smoking and vaping are major risk factors for heart disease. They also play a role in blocking the blood vessels that lead to your feet. Excessive consumption of alcohol raises your blood pressure and puts stress on your heart. - Improve your diet.
“Improving” your diet doesn’t have to mean “going on” a diet. Nor does it have to mean a complete overhaul. Make one or two small changes this month such as eating a salad every day, adding more fruits and vegetables to your daily menu, drinking more water (and less soda), eating less red meat, and avoiding processed foods.
Certainly, we could easily add a fourth recommendation: visit your primary care doctor regularly. You’re more likely to detect heart problems early and problems that affect your heart, such as high blood pressure. Visit our Fairfax County podiatry office when you have pain in your feet, notice changes in foot shape, can’t feel your feet or have trouble walking. We offer a modern office and a caring physician, Dr. Kenneth R. Wilhelm, who is board-certified in podiatry and podiatric surgery. To make an appointment with Dr. Wilhelm, contact us online or call our office in Centreville, Virginia, at (703) 996-3000.
