What causes chronic venous insufficiency?
Arteries bring oxygenated blood from the heart to the organs in the body and veins return the deoxygenated blood back to your heart and lungs. To accomplish this, blood needs to flow upward from the veins in the legs. For this to happen, the muscles in the lower extremities need to contract.This contraction will squeeze the veins, pushing the blood upward. To keep the blood flowing in an upward direction and not back down, the veins contain one-way valves. This valve system is known as the venous pump and works very effectively when you walk, however when you sit or stand for long periods of time the blood in your legs can pool and increase the venous blood pressure. Chronic venous insufficiency occurs when the valves in the vein become damaged and are not able to close all the way. This allows blood and fluid to leak backward causing blood to pool in the lower legs which is known as venous stasis. Several things can cause the valves to be damaged including: Varicose veins Surgery Inju
