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Like millions of other adults in the United States — about 40 million, to be more exact — you’ve developed some ropey, bulging veins on your legs.
Called varicose veins, you want to know whether you should be concerned by these vascular developments or whether they’re just pesky cosmetic concerns.
The short answer is that varicose veins do have the potential to be problematic, which board-certified cardiologist Dr. Satjit Bhusri and the team here at The Upper East Side Vein Institute get into below.
Why varicose veins develop
To explain why seeking treatment for varicose veins is a good idea, let’s go back to the beginning.
In most cases, varicose veins are an outward sign of a common vascular issue called chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which affects up to 35% of adults in the US.
Blood that travels down into your legs has to travel back out, fighting gravity and distance to get back up to your heart and lungs for oxygen. To keep this blood flowing upward, the veins in your lower legs are equipped with tiny valves that close after blood passes through. These valves prevent blood from spilling backward.
With CVI, these valves aren’t closing all the way because they’ve grown weaker, which allows blood to pool and settle. When this blood gathers, it engorges the blood vessel, creating pressure that sends it to the surface of your skin.
And that’s how a varicose vein typically occurs.
The risks that come with varicose veins
We want to say up front that, at first, most varicose veins are harmless and pose only cosmetic concerns. If you consider, however, that once a varicose vein develops, it isn’t going away on its own, you begin to see why so many patients come through our doors for treatment.
From a medical standpoint, our concern with untreated varicose veins is the threat of ulceration — about 4% of adults over the age of 65 develop venous ulcers.
As the name suggests, a venous ulcer is an open sore that develops around the varicose vein, turning a once-mild problem into a more serious health issue.
You should also consider that CVI is a progressive disease, so seeking help at the first signs of trouble — a varicose vein — is a good idea, so that we can work toward preventing more varicose veins from developing.
The bottom line is that leaving a varicose vein untreated not only means that you’re stuck with the bulging vein, but it also sets you up for potential problems down the road in the form of venous ulcers.
A better direction to go is to come see us for a vein evaluation, during which we can discuss how to treat your varicose vein(s). To get that ball rolling, please call our New York City office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan at 212-752-3464 to schedule a consultation. You can also request your appointment online by clicking here.