What causes varicose veins?
The normal function of leg veins is to carry blood back to the heart. During walking activity, the calf muscle acts as a pump, compressing the leg veins and forcing blood back towards the heart.To prevent blood from going in the wrong direction, veins have one-way valves valves that prevent blood from flowing backwards down the leg. If the valves are faulty (a condition known as valvular incompetence), blood flows back into superficial veins and down the leg. This process is known as reflux. Reflux results in veins enlarging and becoming varicose. Once veins become varicose, they lose their ability to snap back into their correct shape, and become more plastic rather than elastic. Varicose veins unfortunately cannot heal themselves, and this condition is either stabilized with compression hose, or managed with one of the vein treatment plans.
The actual cause of varicose veins is inefficient, faulty vein valves. These valves don’t close properly, allowing blood to leak back with gravity and pool in the vein. This causes the veins to bulge and stretch and result in many unpleasant side effects such as aching and throbbing pain, heavy and tired legs, and poor circulation.
Superficial venous reflux is a leading cause of varicose veins. It is a condition that develops when the valves that usually keep blood flowing out of your legs become damaged or diseased. This causes blood to pool in your legs. Common symptoms include pain, swelling, leg heaviness and fatigue, as well as varicose veins in your legs.
Varicose veins were once part of the superficial venous system which normally returns only 5-10% of the blood flow from the legs back to the heart. Varicose veins begin when tiny one-way valves inside veins wear out over time. When these valves fail, blood falls down the veins with gravity causing excessive pressure to build up inside the veins. The veins swell and become tortuous. Once a vein is damaged by this process it can never again function as a healthy vein.
One clear factor is heredity. Most patients who suffer from varicose veins have a family history of the condition. Another factor is hormonal changes that specifically affect women. Pregnancy or birth control pills further increase your chances of developing vein disorders. Other contributing factors include prolonged standing, being overweight, and trauma to the leg.
