FAQs About Veins

How Do Veins Work?

Blood flows through a system of blood vessels, which are veins and arteries. Arteries carry blood rich in oxygen from your heart to all regions of the body. The function of veins is to transport the blood back to the heart. In order for veins to work, the valves must close all the way to prevent backflow of blood. When the muscles in your calf contract; blood is squeezed from the veins. When the muscles in your calf relax, the valves in the veins temporarily close to prevent the blood from flowing away from the heart, in the wrong direction.

In your legs, there are 3 types of veins; superficial, perforating, and deep veins. Think of the perforating veins as connecting the superficial veins to the deep veins. If you are standing, superficial veins run vertically, just beneath the surface of the skin and are often times visible to the naked eye. Superficial veins are responsible for transporting as little as 10% of the blood in the legs. The 10% of blood carried in the superficial veins flow directly into the perforating veins. The perforating veins run perpendicular to superficial veins and again, their function is to connect the superficial veins to the deep veins. Deep veins are located deep within the muscle of your leg and run parallel to superficial veins. Deep veins are responsible for transporting as much as 90% of the blood in your legs back to your heart.

What Are Varicose Veins?

Varicose veins are large swollen veins that bulge under the skin and are typically blue or green in color. An abnormal valve or a weakened vessel wall causes the bulging. In a normally functioning vein, the valve prevents blood flowing in the wrong direction back towards the foot. In a varicose vein, the valve is damaged and does not close properly. This allows blood to escape backwards when muscles relax. The result is increased pressure in the vein causing it to become swollen with excess blood. Varicose veins can occur anywhere on the leg.

What Are Spider Veins?

Spider veins, also known, as telangiectasias are small, dilated blood vessels that appear near the surface of the skin. Spider veins tend to be red or blue in color, and can be painful, itchy, and even potentially bleed.

Spider veins are generally caused by an increase in pressure in veins close to the skin from increased pressure in the deeper veins. Deeper veins may include veins in the reticular dermis (reticular) or underlying pathology in the superficial or deep system. In most cases, an ultrasound (US) needs to be done to determine if there is an origin.

How is vein disease diagnosed?

Vein disease is diagnosed through a physical exam and a venous ultrasound test.  This test will determine if there are any blood clots in the deep, superficial and perforator veins.  The ultrasound is then used to evaluate the blood flow within the vein, determine direction of blood flow through the vein, and identify reflux.


What types of vein treatments are available?

There are a number of treatments available for varicose veins. Many of them are simple things a person can do immediately to relieve symptoms.

• Elevate the legs as much as possible. If you can take half-hour breaks during the day to rest, do it. It is important to raise the legs up above the level of the heart to get the maximum effect, and to do this for about a half-hour each time.
• Wear compression stockings (such as TED Hose or Jobst stockings). Put them on in the morning before walking around and before the veins become more swollen. If you try this and experience worsening pain, especially after walking, remove them and see a health care professional.
• If you are overweight, try to lose weight. A healthy diet high in fiber and low in fat and salt can help.
• Do not cross your legs when sitting.
• Walking is good exercise and can help your muscles force the blood out of the deeper vein system.

If none of these options work, or provide only minimal relief, it may be time to see the specialists at Mon Health Vein Care to see if a procedure is necessary.

Potential procedures include:

Sclerotherapy:

This technique involves injecting a problem vein with a chemical solution (sclerosant). This is simple to do, performed in a short office visit, painless and requires no anesthetic. The chemical solution causes the blood vessel to close, and it will eventually disappear. Sclerotherapy is the gold standard for treating spider veins and is also used to treat certain varicose veins.

VenaSeal Procedure

VenaSeal procedure is a safe treatment option for closure of diseased veins that involves delivering a specialized medical adhesive to close the vein so blood flow can be redirected to healthy veins.  Clinical results at five years are 94.6% and typically involves less bruising due to decreased injections during this procedure with only one needle stick of numbing medication needed for this procedure.  This is an in-office procedure and typically takes just about an hour to complete.

Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)

RFA (radiofrequency ablation) offered at the Mon Health Vein Center is a non-surgical treatment for the elimination of varicose veins that's safe, virtually painless and requires little-to-no downtime. RFA utilizes heat to close the diseased vein to achieve proven results without the discomfort and lengthy recovery time that can result from the surgical option of ligation and vein stripping.  The entire procedure takes about one hour and is covered by most health insurance.  Results can be immediate and are more than 91.9% effective at 5 years.