Ask most people on the street what vein disease is, and if they have an answer at all, they’ll say, “Varicose veins, right?” They might also go on to describe these varicose veins as primarily a cosmetic issue, not a serious medical problem at all, and furthermore an issue that only affects women.
Sadly, all of these answers are misconceptions – vein disease very much is a real medical problem, and one that affects over 30 million Americans. And it’s very much not a women’s disease, because over 20% of men over 50 have vein disease. Finally, it’s not merely cosmetic, because vein disease can become so debilitating that sufferers of it can no longer walk, and it can escalate into conditions that can actually be fatal.
First, it’s about the circulation of your blood. Vein doctors in Boynton Beach explain that a normally functioning circulatory system, blood is charged with oxygen in the lungs and pumped by the heart through the arteries to your organs and extremities. From there, it is pumped back to the heart through the veins, taking advantage of tiny, one-way valves in the veins themselves that open to allow blood to flow, and close when it has passed through. Many vein diseases involve a failure of these tiny valves.
For example, if you develop chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI, these valves become “leaky,” and allow blood to flow “backwards” back into the veins and pool there. CVI is one of the primary causes of varicose veins, but can also result in swollen legs and ankles so painful that you cannot walk, open sores called leg ulcers that form on the surface of your legs, and chronic tiredness and weakness.
And CVI is not the worst of vein diseases; that would be deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, which causes blood clots to form in the deep veins of your legs. Even if these clots remain in place they restrict proper circulation and impair your immune system and overall health, but the real problem occurs if the blood clots break loose from where they formed and travel through the veins to the lungs or brain. There they can cause a pulmonary embolism or stroke, conditions that kill an estimated 300,000 Americans per year. So yes, vein disease is a real disease.
Vein disease is caused by many factors, some within our control, some not. Among the risk factors we can’t control are genetics (you are more at risk if you have a family history of vein disease), gender (women are more at risk than men, for hormonal reasons), and aging. Among the risk factors we can control are obesity, smoking cigarettes, and lack of exercise or inactivity.
The best vein doctors in Boynton Beach can help you reduce these risk factors, and can quickly and easily analyze the state of your venous health to determine whether you have other hidden risk factors, or whether vein disease has already begun to manifest. If it has, they have the most advanced, state-of-the-art technology available with which to treat vein diseases and eliminate them. And the best part is that modern vein disease treatment is so fast and easy that almost all diagnostic and treatment procedures can be performed in under an hour, and in the comfort of your local Boynton Beach vein clinic.
So our advice as Boynton Beach vein doctors are to become proactive about your vein health by calling us at 561-515-0080 to schedule an appointment for an initial consultation and a venous health screening. It takes only about an hour, and at the end of that time you’ll have a clear picture of your current vein health and what needs to be done to improve it and make you healthier. Call us today…you’ll be happy you did.
