What are varicose veins?

Varicose veins often look blue, bulging, and twisted under your skin. Any vein may become varicose, but the veins most commonly affected are those in your in your legs and feet. That’s because standing and walking upright increases the pressure in the veins of your lower body. Left untreated, varicose veins may worsen over time. Varicose veins can cause aching pain and feelings of fatigue as well as skin changes like rashes, redness, and sores. As many as 40 million Americans, women more frequently than men, have varicose veins. Varicose veins occur in the superficial veins in your legs, which lies closest to the skin.

Varicose Vein FAQ

Varicose veins develop because of a valve insufficiency in the vein. There are one-way flaps, called valves, in your veins that keep blood flowing in the right direction. Veins carry your blood back to your heart. The muscles in your leg help pump the blood back to your heart. The valves inside the veins open when blood flows to the heart and close to stop the blood from flowing backward. When you sit or stand, especially for a long time, the blood in your leg veins can pool and the pressure in your legs can increase causing a venous hypertension in your legs. This can cause your vein wall to stretch (think of a balloon that is filled with water) which can weaken the walls in your veins and damage the vein valves.

Spider veins are mild varicose veins. They look like a nest of red or blue lines just under your skin. Spider veins are not a serious medical problem, but they can be a cosmetic concern to some people, and they can cause symptoms of aching pain and itching in others.

What are the symptoms?
If you have varicose veins, your legs may feel heavy, tired, restless, or achy. Standing or sitting for too long may worsen your symptoms. You may also experience night cramps, restless legs, and swollen ankles.
You may notice small clusters of veins in a winding pattern on your leg, or soft, slightly tender knots of veins. Sometimes, the skin on your legs may change color, become irritated, or even form sores.

What causes varicose veins?
High blood pressure inside your superficial leg veins causes varicose veins.
Factors that can increase your risk for varicose veins include having a family history of varicose veins, being overweight, not exercising enough, smoking, standing or sitting for long periods of time. Women are more likely than men to develop varicose veins. Varicose veins usually affect people between the ages of 30 and 70.
Pregnant women have an increased risk of developing varicose veins, but the veins often return to normal within 1 year after childbirth. Women who have multiple pregnancies may develop permanent varicose veins.

What tests will I need?
First, your physician asks you questions about your general health, medical history, and symptoms. In addition, your physician conducts a physical exam. Your physician will examine the texture and color of any prominent veins. To confirm a diagnosis of varicose veins, your physician may order a duplex ultrasound test.
Duplex ultrasound uses painless, high-frequency waves higher than human hearing can detect. Your physician uses duplex ultrasound to measure the speed of blood flow and to see the structure of your leg veins. The test can take approximately 30 minutes for each leg.  Besides showing varicose veins, duplex ultrasound may help your physician decide whether your varicose veins could be related to some other condition rather than the veins themselves.

 

Cardiovascular Information

The term "heart disease" is often used interchangeably with "cardiovascular disease" — a term that generally refers to conditions that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to a heart attack, chest pain (angina) or stroke. Other heart conditions, such as infections and conditions that affect your heart's muscle, valves or beating rhythm also are considered forms of heart disease.

Heart disease is the No. 1 worldwide killer of men and women, including in the United States. For example, heart disease is responsible for 40 percent of all the deaths in the United States, more than all forms of cancer combined. Many forms of heart disease can be prevented or treated with healthy lifestyle choices and diet and exercise.

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How are varicose veins treated?

Compression Stockings

For more severe varicose veins, your physician may prescribe compression stockings. Compression stockings
are elastic stockings that squeeze your veins and stop excess blood from flowing backward. In this way, compression stockings also can help heal skin sores and prevent them from returning. You may be required to wear compression stockings daily for the rest of your life.
When these kinds of treatments alone do not relieve your varicose veins, you may require a surgical or minimally invasive treatment, depending upon the extent and severity of the varicose veins. These treatments include sclerotherapy, ablation, vein stripping, and phlebectomy.
  

Sclerotherapy

During sclerotherapy, your physician injects a chemical into your varicose veins. The chemical irritates and scars your veins from the inside out so your abnormal veins can then
no longer fill with blood. Blood that would normally return to the heart through these veins returns to the heart through other veins. Your body will eventually absorb the veins that received the injection. This treatment is commonly used for spider veins and when ablation is not recommended by your doctor.

Ablation

Ablation uses a thin, flexible tube called a catheter inserted into a varicose vein. Tiny electrodes at the tip of the catheter heat the walls of your varicose vein and destroy the vein tissue. As with chemical sclerotherapy, your varicose vein is then no longer able to carry blood, and it is eventually absorbed by your body. The blood is then re-directed to the healthier veins in your leg.

Vein Stripping

To perform vein stripping, your physician first makes a small incision in the groin area and usually another incision in your calf below the knee. Then your physician disconnects and ties off all major varicose vein branches associated with the saphenous vein, the main superficial vein in your leg. Your physician then removes the saphenous vein from your leg. In our days this surgery is used rarely. The availability of newer less painful modalities made vein stripping unnecessary. Patients heal faster and easier when these newer treatments are used.



Small incisions allows your physician to remove individual varicose vein clusters from your leg using hooks passed through small incisions. These incisions are so small they do not require a stitch. This is done with local anesthesia like Novocain.

Several key dietary factors that can lower the risk of heart disease,

Lowering of LDL cholesterol by reducing saturated fat intake.

Lowering of Triglyceride levels by reducing consumption of sugary and processed foods.

Reduction of Homocysteine levels by supplementation with Vitamins B6 and B12, and folic acid.

Increased antioxidant activity by higher consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Lowering of fibrinogen and growth factors by cutting back on foods such as red meat, dairy products, poultry and eggs.