Venous Insufficiency

What is venous insufficiency?

Your arteries work hard to deliver blood to the regions of your body furthest from your heart. Harder still is the job your peripheral veins perform returning the blood to your heart, fighting distance and gravity along the way.

When the veins in your legs are functioning correctly, tiny valves along your blood vessels close after the blood passes through to prevent your blood from spilling backward, keeping it marching upward toward your heart. 

With venous insufficiency, your valves have become incompetent and aren’t closing properly, allowing blood to pool, which is also called venous stasis.

What are the symptoms of venous insufficiency?

The pooling of blood in your legs caused by venous insufficiency makes itself known in several ways, including:

• Varicose veins
• Swelling in your legs
• Pain
• Deep vein thrombosis
• Discoloration
• Rashes and sores

Although many of these conditions aren’t life-threatening, they are more than just minor nuisances and can alter your life in considerable ways. Even unsightly varicose veins can turn problematic and cause pain if they progress.

One of the complications of venous insufficiency, can be deep vein thrombosis, this condition is, in fact, life-threatening, making venous insufficiency nothing to take lightly.

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s essential that you seek medical intervention and arm yourself with the best diagnostic tools available.

How is venous insufficiency diagnosed?

The best way to determine whether venous insufficiency is at play is to undergo a vascular diagnostic ultrasound with the team at Vascular Specialists.

This painless and harmless diagnostic imaging tool provides you and your doctor with critical information about the state of your veins. Since the ultrasound records real-time information, the resulting images paint a clear picture of your veins in motion to determine how well your valves are working (or not working).

How is venous insufficiency treated?

After the Vascular Specialists team diagnoses you with venous insufficiency using a vascular ultrasound, they plan your treatment. In most cases, the team begins treatment for venous insufficiency using compression stockings. Wearing compression stockings keeps your blood from pooling in the veins in your lower legs.

The second part of your treatment involves either laser ablation or VenaSeal® glue. Both options are minimally-invasive treatments to close insufficient veins without removing them to prevent bleeding, bruising, and scarring. 

To schedule a diagnostic ultrasound and get effective treatment for venous insufficiency, call Vascular Specialists today or book your appointment online.