About Venous Disease: Understanding Superficial Venous Reflux

Your legs are made up of a network of veins. Healthy leg veins contain valves that open and close to assist the return of blood back to the heart. Venous reflux disease develops when the valves that keep blood flowing out of the legs and back to the heart become damaged or diseased. This can cause blood to pool in your legs and lead to symptoms such as pain, swelling, swollen limbs, leg heaviness and fatigue, skin changes and skin ulcers, and varicose veins.

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Normal Vein Function

Normally, veins are thin-walled blood vessels that return blood to the heart after arteries deliver oxygenated blood to an area. In the legs, thigh and calf muscles “pump” blood back up to the heart with the help of valves that allow one way flow back to the heart against the pressure of gravity. The most common cause of varicose veins is the failure of the valves that then allows gravity to reverse normal vein flow and causes the thin walled veins to bulge and become varicose.

Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are enlarged veins that result from failure of valves to prevent back pressure in the venous system. The back pressure results in symptoms of tired aching legs, local discomfort and swelling, usually progressively worse as the day goes on. Nocturnal leg cramps are common. Compression hose can help symptoms but do nothing to cure the underlying cause. Effective treatment usually eliminates symptoms as well as the varicosities themselves.

Untreated, venous disease always worsens over time. Complications include possible blood clots (thrombosis), inflammation (superficial phlebitis), swelling, skin injury and open sores (ulceration).

Causes

Heredity is the main factor. If one or both parents have significant varicose vein problems, their children have a 50-80% incidence of significant varicose vein problems. This genetic disposition can lead to later problems even after effective treatment.

Hormonal influences: Female hormones contribute to varicose vein problems—thus the predominance of the problem in women.

Pregnancy: Pregnancy causes increased hormones and blood volume; which, in turn, contributes to varicose vein problems in as many as 60% of pregnant women in the first trimester. About 1/3 of these patients will have varicose vein problems after delivery.