Understanding What Venous Disease Is

What Is Venous Disease

Although generally not life-threatening, venous disease affects over 40 million people in the United States. Venous disease is a term that is broadly used to describe a condition characterized by the inability of the body's venous system to properly pump blood through the veins, back to the heart. Venous disease is a common result of valve dysfunction, that occurs when veins in your legs are damaged, are too weak to do their job or don’t function properly.

Normally, valves in your leg veins keep the blood flowing back up to your heart, but with the onset of venous disease these veins can’t manage the blood flow as well as they should, and it’s harder for the blood in your legs to return to your heart. The inability of of the veins to properly pump the blood back to the heart through the venous system is referred to as venous insufficiency. In more severe forms, venous insufficiency can progress into chronic venous insufficiency (CVI).

When venous insufficiency develops, the result is that the blood begins to pool in your leg veins, leading to high pressure in the veins which causes pain and swelling, may lead to changes in skin color, and the development of varicose veins. In more severe cases as venous insufficiency progresses into chronic venous insufficiency, the potential increases for blood clots to form (deep vein thrombosis) and venous leg ulcers to develop on your legs.

Some of the more common contributing causes of venous disease development include:

• Long periods of physical inactivity, sitting, or a sedentary lifestyle
• Unhealthy eating habits
• Smoking
• Obesity and an unhealthy body mass index (BMI)
• Previous history of blood clots
• Weakening of valves due to old age
• Fatigued muscles
• Pregnancy

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Common Types Of Venous Disease