Are you neglecting your “second heart?” Sitting for hours at work or at home inactivates a critical part of the body that helps keep blood circulating properly.
The calf muscles are your “second heart,” squeezing veins in the lower legs to help return deoxygenated blood from the feet back up towards the chest, the Cleveland Clinic notes.
But a sedentary lifestyle interrupts this process, which can cause blood to pool in the legs, leading to health consequences.
Cardiologist Tip of the Day: Activate Your ‘Second Heart’
Keep those legs moving because sitting too much can be unhealthy for the heart and blood vessels, and may raise heart disease risk, the American Heart Association cautions.
Excessive standing has a negative impact, too.
The standing desk movement led to more venous issues because people were just standing at their desks without moving, said Dr. Sharonne Hayes, a cardiologist and professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
“A lot of people got varicose veins for the first time or blood clots for the first time,” Hayes previously told TODAY.com.
“Standing is almost in some ways worse than prolonged sitting for veins.”
Why It Matters
The human body was designed to move all day, not sit still, so the “second heart” only starts pumping when the legs move.
Every time the calf muscle contracts, one-way valves inside the leg veins open and blood gets pushed upwards towards the heart, Dr. Teresa Wu, a vascular medicine physician at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, previously TODAY.com.
When the calf muscle relaxes, the valves close, which prevents blood from flowing backwards into the legs, she added.
The system defies gravity as long as the calf muscle pump function is engaged. If it's not, blood pooling can lead to leg swelling and varicose veins.
How to Get Started
Just walk. Take frequent walking breaks, moving at least once or twice an hour or more often if possible — especially if you have a desk job or a standing job, experts say.
“It’s to get that calf muscle pumping,” Hayes notes. “Keep moving.”
If you’re on a plane or stuck at your desk at work, do toe raises. Flex the foot up and down — which is the closest you can get to mimicking the motion of taking a step.
TODAY’s Expert Tip of the Day series is all about simple strategies to make life a little easier. Every Monday through Friday, different qualified experts share their best advice on diet, fitness, heart health, mental wellness and more.
A. Pawlowski is a TODAY health reporter focusing on health news and features. Previously, she was a writer, producer and editor at CNN.
English (US) ·