In honor of February being American Heart Disease month, we want to help spread awareness for your heart health. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Americans. That means that recognizing the signs and symptoms of this potentially devastating disease is critical. Did you know that your feet can show signs of heart failure, along with the rest of your body? Heart health and foot health commonly go hand-in-hand, especially when it comes to peripheral artery disease or PAD. Let’s take a closer look.

Pay Attention to the Signs

When your arteries clog and narrow, it prevents proper blood circulation, especially to your lower extremities. This leads to a whole host of foot and ankle symptoms, the most common being ongoing leg pain. If you find that you have more pain when you’re walking and it slows when you’re resting, it’s a good idea to call your doctor or podiatrist. It could point to PAD.

Others deal with sores, ulcers, or wounds that don’t heal properly, numbness in your feet, swelling, cold spots, changes in skin color, hair loss, and leg cramps.

Risk Factors

Anyone can be a victim of heart disease, regardless of age, gender, and ethnicity. But some are at a higher risk of developing diseases like PAD due to specific factors like…

• Being over 45 years old
• Smoking
• Consuming large amounts of alcohol
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Family history of heart disease, heart attacks, stroke, etc.
• Sedentary lifestyle and exercising infrequently.
• Eating a poor diet
• High cholesterol

Concerned about heart disease and its effects on your feet? Call our office today and ask about it. Dr. Ryan L. D’Amico, Dr. Donal M. Erickson, Dr. Keith Sherman, Dr. Anne-Louise Smith, Dr. Justin Muser, and the rest of the staff at Syracuse Podiatry in East Syracuse, New York, can help treat and care for your feet. Call us at 315-446-3668 or make an appointment online to get help today.