Varicose Veins What are they Physical expression of

Varicose Veins What are they? • Physical expression of venous insufficiency • Swollen, twisted, and sometimes painful veins that have filled with an abnormal collection of blood. • Latin root- “varix”

Anatomy & Physiology Normal Veins? • Veins return blood to the heart • In most veins, direction of blood flow defies gravity • Veins have valves that prevent backward flow Varicose Veins? • With varicose veins, the valves do not function properly, allowing blood to remain in the vein. Pooling of blood in a vein causes it to enlarge.

Think, Pair, Share: Consider some possible causes of varicose veins.

Incidence Who’s Affected? • Anyone, but mostly women • 80 million Americans have venous insufficiency Location? • Superficial veins • Most common on legs and ankles Photo: Gastric varicose veins SCIENCEphoto. LIBRARY

Risk Factors Primary Varicose Veins • Heredity • Congenitally defective valves Secondary Varicose Veins • • • Advancing Age Sedentary lifestyle Standing long periods Increased abdominal pressure Hormonal influences Prior injury and/or blood clots to affected area

Think, Pair, Share: The diagnosis of varicose veins in America has more than doubled since 1985. How would you explain this increase?

Other Symptoms These symptoms may occur prior to and along with visible varicosities • Fullness, heaviness, and aching in legs • Visible, enlarged veins • Mild swelling of ankles • Brown discoloration of the skin at the ankles • Skin ulcers near the ankle (this is more often seen in severe cases)

Diagnosis Procedures • duplex ultrasound Doppler probe evaluates velocity of blood flow B-mode transducer displays both an image • color-flow imaging Also called triplex ultrasound. Uses color to highlight the direction of blood flow, in addition to Doppler and B-mode technology of Duplex ultrasound • magnetic resonance venography (MRV) Produces detailed images of organs and structures. Most useful for differential diagnosis of leg pain

Treatment Surgical Vein stripping • Surgical removal • reserved for skin ulcers and unbearable pain Noninvasive Sclerotherapy • Cauterize/ burn affected veins • Laser ablation or Radiofrequency ablation

Treatment Self Management • avoid excessive standing • raise legs when resting or sleeping • wear elastic support hose.

Think, Pair, Share: So, why have you never heard of varicose arteries? References: http: //www. veinclinicpa. com/vein-diseases/overview/what-are-varicoseveins. html http: //www. sciencephoto. com/media/263340/view http: //stanfordhospital. org/clinicsmed. Services/COE/surgical. Services/vascul ar. Surgery/patient. Education/varicose. html http: //www. burystedmundsveins. co. uk/Aboutvaricoseveins. php http: //www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmedhealth/PMH 0002099/