Your body contains roughly 60,000 miles of pathways that allow your blood to circulate. Some of these blood vessels are tiny (capillaries), and others are muscular to carry oxygen-rich blood from your heart (arteries).
Your veins handle circulating blood back to your heart once it’s depleted of oxygen.
Some veins have to work harder than others. The veins in your legs, for example, must defy gravity to bring blood upward when you’re standing. They have valves that help keep blood flowing in the right direction. Over time, those valves can fail.
That can land you with venous insufficiency, which can cause uncomfortable symptoms and, left unchecked, even lead to a life-threatening situation. Being overweight and pregnancy are among the risk factors for this condition.
Fortunately, our providers at Louisiana Heart and Vascular Institute specialize in diagnosing and treating venous insufficiency. At our Louisiana offices in Covington, Franklinton, and Hammond, we can help determine if you’re having this problem with your veins.
Let’s look at some of the warning signs that you are.
When blood doesn’t flow through the veins in your leg like it should, it can contribute to a variety of symptoms, including:
On its own, venous insufficiency doesn’t usually cause problems beyond discomfort and unwelcome cosmetic changes. Unchecked, it can turn into deep vein thrombosis, or a clot in a blood vessel. A clot that breaks loose and travels to your lungs can be life-threatening.
If these signs of venous insufficiency sound familiar, see our team. With a painless, noninvasive ultrasound, we can see how well the veins in your legs and the valves inside them work.
If you’re dealing with chronic venous insufficiency, our team tailors a plan to your needs. For some people, wearing medical-grade compression stockings is enough to support healthy blood flow.
Others need more direct intervention. We offer sclerotherapy and radiofrequency ablation to close off problem veins. Your body then redirects blood flow to other, healthy veins in your legs. If the problem vein was visibly bulging, this treatment also generally improves its appearance.
You don’t have to live with venous insufficiency and the discomfort, cosmetic changes, and health risks that come with it. If you think the veins in your legs might have this problem, let us know. Call the office nearest you or schedule your appointment online today.
