All About
Varicose Veins

• Varicose veins are easily spotted — they’re visible in a raised, twisted, or knotted shape.
• Varicose veins might be reddish, bluish, greenish, or skin-colored.
• 30% of all adults have a high risk of varicose veins, but women are more likely to experience chronic venous insufficiency than men. Other common risk factors for varicose veins include genetic predisposition, weight changes, aging, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle.
• Varicose veins are more common on the legs and pelvic region than on other parts.
• The risk of varicose veins increases if you stand or sit still for long periods.
• Varicose veins and the underlying vein disease should be treated using minimally invasive spider vein and varicose vein treatments in Maryland.
• Leaving varicose veins untreated leads to a high risk of infections and deep vein thrombosis.
• Our vein specialists in Maryland identify and treat venous insufficiency, the root cause of most vein problems. If you notice spider veins, varicose veins, leg heaviness, restless leg syndrome, frequent leg cramps, or other signs and symptoms of venous insufficiency, please contact our Maryland Vein Center without delay.

For the same reasons, varicose veins are also more common amongst pregnant women and those undergoing hormone changes. The risk of vein disease increases with age, and men over 50 have a high risk of vein disease symptoms. You also have a high risk of vein disease symptoms if you have a sedentary job that involves long periods of sitting or standing still, such as driving, teaching, nursing, or desk jobs.

Varicose veins are dense, large, bulging masses of tangled, twisted blood vessels that protrude from the skin’s surface. They indicate excessive blood accumulation in leg veins, leading to leg heaviness, leg pain, and leg discomfort. Some patients don’t experience major symptoms (other than varicose veins), but, in other cases, the visible vein problems might be accompanied by other signs and symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency, the root cause of varicose veins.

Patients visiting Maryland Vein Center for varicose veins usually exhibit these symptoms:

• Frequent muscle cramps on the legs and calves
• Large, bulging varicose veins on the skin’s surface
• Excessive leg heaviness, particularly at the end of the day
• Leg pain, especially while sitting or standing still for long periods
• Swelling in the lower extremities of the body, particularly the feet and ankles
• Increasing leg heaviness as the day progresses
• Restless leg syndrome, marked by an insatiable urge to shake the legs
• Venous eczema or stasis dermatitis, marked by itchy skin near the varicose veins
• Formation of spider veins on the skin’s surface
• Skin discoloration on the legs, marked by bluish or brown patches of skin
• Lipodermatosclerosis, marked by an inflammation of fat cells underneath the skin

Blood in the leg veins must flow upwards, usually against the force of gravity, to deliver deoxygenated blood to the heart. The veins contain mechanisms known as vein valves that act as one-way doors, allowing blood to flow upwards towards the heart but not backward. Varicose veins occur because of an underlying circulatory disorder known as chronic venous insufficiency, wherein your vein valves collapse and blood flows backward, leading to the accumulation of blood in leg veins.

When the vein valves collapse because of genetic predisposition, aging, underlying medical conditions, and other factors, blood flows backward because of gravity, eventually accumulating in the leg veins. The continued accumulation of blood in leg veins leads to vascular dilation and the weakening of vein walls, which, in turn, leads to spider veins and varicose veins on the skin’s surface. As more blood accumulates, varicose veins become even larger and more prominent.