(866) 552-4866 Do Any of These Symptoms Sound Familiar?
- Feelings of achiness
- Visible spider veins or varicose veins
- Heaviness or fullness in your legs
- Burning, throbbing, itching, and swelling
- Skin discoloration
- Restless legs
- Cold legs
- Muscle cramps
- Numb legs
- Discomfort when sitting or standing
- Bruising
Wondering if your symptoms are due to vein disease or venous insufficiency? Schedule a consultation with a StrideCare vascular specialist today. Our collaborative approach ensures you receive the care you need.
What Is Venous Insufficiency?
If you are on the fence about venous doppler?ultrasound, consider the signs and symptoms you might be experiencing and the importance of early detection. An average of one in every three adults over 45 develops some form of vein disease, which can include symptoms ranging from tired and heavy legs to any of the symptoms mentioned above. This is because the valves in our veins start to weaken, slow down and fill up with blood. As a result, our veins enlarge or swell due to fluid buildup.
Typically, the first signs of problems are unsightly, thin, thread-like red or blue lines along the skin called spider veins. Eventually, people can develop varicose veins, and if they do not visit a doctor, the appearance and symptoms may worsen over time. This can lead to severe complications like chronic venous insufficiency. Chronic venous insufficiency is when blood pressure builds up in the lower legs. It can cause painful symptoms ranging from swelling and a heavy, full feeling in the legs to drastic skin changes that could lead to open sores and ulcers on the legs, feet, or ankles.
You are more likely to experience venous insufficiency if you meet one of these risk factors:
- Overweight — Excess weight places additional stress on the circulatory system. This causes veins to work harder than usual to push blood throughout the body, damaging veins and valves.
- Current or past pregnancies — Being pregnant is a beautiful time in a woman's life. That said, pregnancy can lead to venous insufficiency. This is for various reasons, including the fact that a pregnant woman's body naturally produces more blood, which leads to excess strain on vein valves and walls. Hormonal changes are also a factor, as is weight gain and pressure from the uterus.
- Sedentary lifestyle — One-third of the global population over age 15 does not engage in enough physical activity, which affects health. The obvious risks of a sedentary life include weight gain, fatigue, and even anxiety.
- Smoking — Smoking, in general, is not good for you and is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes its direct impact on the formation of varicose veins and other venous diseases and complications.
- Family history — Hereditary factors primarily cause vein disease, including venous insufficiency. Therefore, if mom, dad, and grandma all have varicose veins or even a history of blood clots, you are predisposed. In fact, statistics show that roughly half of all varicose vein patients have a family history of vein disease.
You do not have to suffer from vein disease. Schedule a consultation with StrideCare's expert physicians at one of our vein clinics near you.
Ultrasound Technology: A Faster Diagnosis of Venous Insufficiency
Early detection is vital in treating any vein disease, including venous insufficiency. Venous doppler?ultrasound is a noninvasive, nonsurgical, and painless medical test and is typically one of the first tests a patient will undergo. With doppler?ultrasound, a small transducer probe emits high-frequency sound waves to take a detailed picture of the circulatory system and vein structures. As the probe passes over the lower extremities, a computer creates a detailed image of what it sees and detects in real-time. The ultrasound images show several key elements, including the starting and end points of each vein, areas where there is a clear narrowing of vessels, changes in the appearance of tissues, abnormal masses, blood clots, potential blockages, current vein function, and the cause of long-standing swelling. Your doctor can then analyze this information and determine your current circulatory health. During your venous doppler?ultrasound, you may be asked to wear comfortable and loose-fitting clothing that is easy to remove. Before the screening begins, a provider will apply a small amount of gel to the skin to better help the ultrasound glide over your diagnostic area. The entire process typically takes 45-60 minutes to complete.While the ultrasound is taking place, as a patient you can sit back and relax. A few additional benefits include:
- Painless (no needles or injections)
- No need for radiation
- Check for a variety of vein diseases and conditions
- No downtime or recovery period
- Widely available, easy to use, and a less-expensive testing option
- Little to no special preparation is required
- Covered by most medical insurance
Venous doppler?ultrasound imaging is the frontline tool for identifying venous insufficiency. That said, it does more than confirm a diagnosis. It also allows our specialists to tailor treatment plans to your unique needs. After all, no two cases of venous insufficiency are identical. Our doctors must consider blood flow patterns, the extent of valve and vein dysfunction, vein size, the symptoms you are experiencing, the precise location of pain, and more. To aid in this process, it is sometimes necessary to perform venography as a follow-up vein screening to uncover problems with veins that venous ultrasound cannot view. With venography, the provider will inject an iodine-based solution into the veins to act as a contrast that can be seen easily on an X-ray. This allows doctors to get a complete view of your veins without following up on inconclusive ultrasound findings.