top of page

What Your Feet Can Tell You About Your Heart Health

  • Writer: Staff
    Staff
  • Nov 1, 2019
  • 2 min read



Foot and ankle pain can be caused by many things. Maybe you're a little stiff and sore from yesterday's work out. Maybe you twisted your foot the wrong way corralling your runaway dog or maybe lower extremity biomechanics and structural deformities cause your footaches. Perhaps it's a symptom of chronic conditions like diabetes and arthritis. But did you know that your feet may also be giving you hints about your heart's health.


PAD or peripheral artery disease often referred to as poor circulation is caused by a blockage or narrowing of the arteries of the legs when fatty deposits or plaque build up. PAD effects more than 8 million Americans and is one of the leading causes of lower extremity amputations in the United States. PAD occurs most often in the arteries in the legs and microcirculation to the foot but it can also effect other arteries that carry blood outside the heart. This includes arteries that go to the aorta, the brain, the arms, the kidneys, and the stomach. When arteries inside the heart are hardened or narrowed, it is called coronary artery disease (CAD) or cardiovascular disease.


According to the American Heart Association. PAD is often undiagnosed. Untreated PAD increases your risk of CAD, heart attack, stroke, gangrene or amputation. The symptoms of PAD include the following:

  • Foot, calf, buttock, hip, or thigh discomfort (aching, fatigue, tingling, cramping, or pain) when you walk relieved by rest

  • Foot or toe pain at rest that often disturbs your sleep

  • A lower body temperature in your extremities compared to the rest of your body

  • Poor leg hair growth

  • Pale, discolored, or bluish toes

  • Diminished or absent pedal (foot) pulses

  • Skin wounds or ulcers on your feet or toes that are slow to heal 

However, many individuals with PAD do not experience typical symptoms that may be overlooked or blamed on something else. Early detection of PAD offers an opportunity to treat risk factors that can slow the progression of the disease and decrease the chance of heart attack and stroke, improve the quality of life and prevent limb loss.


Identification of lower extremity vascular disease based on clinical findings are an integral part of the podiatric physicical exam. Podiatric physicians are often the physicians that first identify vascular abnormalities in a patient because - your feet can tell you a lot about your heart health.






 
 
 

コメント


Site Created and Maintained by Management RX, INC  2025

 

 

 

 

Copyright and  Legal Disclaimer: Information provided on footache.com is designed as a resource, for informational use and is not a substitute for professional medical advice from your personal physician.  Only your personal healthcare provider should diagnose your healthcare problems and prescribe treatment.  For medical care visit your healthcare professional.footache.com and consulting physicians are not responsible or liable directly or indirectly for any form of damages resulting from the misuse of information contained or implied by the site.No patient-physician relationship exists by virtue of visiting this site. footache.com does not collect personal information of viewers.  E-mail addresses of individuals are not used for any purpose other than the service the individual requests. E-mail messages sent to the web site are not secure.  We discourage visitors from sending confidential e-mail.Statements regarding dietary supplements are provided solely to offer additional information about alternative medicine.  No health claims for these products have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), nor has the FDA approved these products to diagnosis, treat or prevent diseases and disorders.  You would need to consult with your personal physician before starting any course of supplementation or treatment, particularly if you are currently being treated for a medical condition.

bottom of page