What Causes Varicose Veins?
Quick Answer: The pooling of blood in the veins causes a bulging, twisted and painful vein. Dr. Mackay is a board certified surgeon and expert at treating varicose veins.
About Veins
Veins are important structures of the circulatory system. The job of the vein is to move blood without oxygen away from the body tissues and back to the heart and lungs to remove carbon dioxide waste and pick up oxygen. Veins are thin, collapsible structures. The blood in veins is largely moved by the contraction of the body muscles to push blood against gravity.
Veins also contain one-way valves that open with muscle contraction to allow blood to the pushed toward the heart and shut with muscle relaxation to prevent the backwards flow of blood in the vein.
The valves can either become damage or dysfunctional. In this case, they do not shut adequately which allows blood to move backwards, with gravity, in the vein. This backwards flow of blood causes the vein to stretch and more blood to sit within the vein. The further stretching pulls other valves apart, preventing them from closing completely, causing more blood to collect. As veins are elastic and thin-walled, once they are stretched for long periods of time with excess blood, they are unable to relax to their original size.
About Varicose Veins
Varicose veins are twisted, swollen veins seen on the skin surface, usually in the legs. These veins are formed by malfunctioning valves within the vein, leading to stretching and swelling of the veins. There are several risks or medical problems that may lead to the development of varicose veins.
The following is a list of the most common problems that may cause varicose veins.
All of these are common risks and causes for the development of varicose veins. Having more than one risk can increase the chance for the development of varicose veins even further. Even with a risk or medical condition listed, this still does not predict the development for varicose veins.