What Is Chronic Venous Insufficiency?
admin Vascular Diseases

What Is Chronic Venous Insufficiency?

Blood is pumped from the heart to all body parts and limbs. The human body veins are responsible to carry the used and deoxygenated blood back from the body parts to the heart. All veins have one-way valves that direct the blood to flow to the heart and restrict its backward movement.

The blood in the leg veins must flow upward, against the pull of the gravity to reach the heart. Venous insufficiency occurs when the leg vein valves do not function as desired and restrict the blood’s movement to the heart. As a result of this, the blood flows back to the leg veins. These malfunctioning valves force the blood to remain collected in the leg veins thus causing blood pooling.

If this medical ailment is left untreated, the condition becomes chronic and the symptoms get worse leading to a disorder that is referred to as Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) in medical terms. CVI is also accompanied by extremely high blood pressure in the affected leg veins which may also result in stasis ulcers and other severe health complications.

Causes of Chronic Venous Insufficiency

Women are more probable to suffer from CVI than men. It usually occurs in people over 50 years of age and there are more than a handful of reasons that can lead to chronic venous insufficiency. Let us have a look at the risk factors below:

  • Presence of blood clots in the deep veins of legs that cause Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) which is responsible for damaging the venous walls and the vein valves
  • Pelvic tumors and vascular malformations
  • Any leg injury
  • Pregnancy or being pregnant again with not enough time gap in between
  • A family history of CVI or varicose veins
  • A poor lifestyle that includes an absence of regular exercise and lack of a balanced diet
  • Excessive smoking or chewing tobacco
  • Being obese or inactive
  • Standing for prolonged hours at a stretch that raises the blood pressure in the leg veins and weakens the valves

Symptoms of Chronic Venous Insufficiency

There are subtle symptoms in the earlier stages of chronic venous insufficiency but if you pay attention to the appearance and sensation in your legs, it will not be very difficult for you to understand and evaluate the urgent need to visit a vascular specialist.

Given below are some of the major warning signs of CVI :

  • Constant itching on the legs
  • Lower leg skin color changing to brown and the skin looking dull
  • Leg cramps and restlessness
  • Severe leg pain when walking or resting
  • Swelling around the ankle and/or lower leg area
  • Wounds that do not heal and lead to leg ulcers
  • Tightening in calves
  • New development of varicose veins
  • Skin commences to look and feel like leather

Treatment for Chronic Venous Insufficiency

Chronic venous insufficiency is 100% treatable. If you notice any early symptoms, you must immediately consult a vascular expert as delayed treatment may have serious ill-consequences.

Following is a list of the feasible treatments that the vascular expert might undertake :

  • Antibiotic oral medicines to cure dermatitis or skin infections with steroid-based ointments for direct application on the skin. A medical wrap may also be suggested for the affected leg area
  • Medication to prevent the possibility of blood clots
  • Sclerotherapy – the medical procedure where a thin needle is used to inject medicines directly into the affected veins. These medicines disrupt the lining of the vein and completely shut it off. The dead vein is later absorbed by the body itself.
  • Endovenous ablation – this is an invasive process that uses laser light or laser fiber to dissolve the problematic veins
  • Surgery – this is comparatively a much more complicated process where the vein is either repaired or cut and tied off so that blood no longer flows through it.
  • Compression stockings – These stockings offer support to the legs and improve blood circulation. Available in multiple sizes, tightness, lengths, and style, your doctor will be able to guide you with the right pair of compression stockings as per your need
  • Lifestyle changes – This undoubtedly is the most important form of self-care and the most effective treatment for CVI. Regular exercise, weight loss, giving up on cigarettes, and not standing or sitting for too long will aid in the recovery of CVI

Though the treatment offered to a patient depends on the age, the severity of  the symptoms and a few other factors, all doctors will first attempt to curb the swelling in the legs and prevent the formation of leg ulcers.

Dr. Rajah V Koppala, the vascular specialist at Avis Vascular Centre has successfully treated thousands of patients suffering from varicose veins, leg ulcers, and CVI. Schedule a consultation to avail his expert medical assistance today!

How Vein Specialists Classify Venous Diseases
admin FAQS & Myths

How Vein Specialists Classify Venous Diseases

Most people, especially women who are over 50 years of age often complain of vein issues in legs and feet. Venous diseases take different shapes and forms in different patients. While some may suffer from invisible yet painful venous insufficiency symptoms, a few others may have signs of painless but ugly looking varicose veins.

No matter the form, venous diseases not only point towards a serious health condition but are also highly progressive in nature which means that the patient’s condition may worsen in the absence of an effective treatment.

As all forms of venous diseases have more or less the same identical signs and symptoms, the doctors found it difficult to differentiate between the various stages and thus CEAP, the comprehensive classification system was used to clearly define distinctive boundaries between the various stages.

CEAP refers to the following :

  •   Clinical observation – What does the affected vein look like?
  •   Etiology – Is the venous disease inherited or there is some other underlying cause?
  •   Anatomy – Which veins are affected?
  •   Pathophysiology – What is the direction of blood flow (normal or abnormal)? Also, is the blood flow restricted ?

As per CEAP, the following is the official classification of venous insufficiency in 7 different stages, listed in increasing levels of severity:

  1. C0 : Asymptomatic : In this stage, there are no signs and symptoms of venous diseases and all veins are working normally. The veins are efficiently able to return the blood from the legs and the feet veins back to the heart.

     

  2. C1 : Spider Veins : Also called telangiectasia or reticular veins, these veins appear to be red, blue or purple in color and are tangled with one another, hence the names spider veins. These veins rise to the skin surface on the legs, upper thighs and around the ankles and hint towards underlying varicose veins.

     

  3. C2 : Varicose Veins : This is a condition where the valves of the leg and feet veins malfunction leading to severe difficulty in pumping the blood back to the heart. These veins force the blood to pool thus causing the patients to develop a heavy feeling and tiredness in the legs. Veins become enlarged and patients may complain of pain, cramps, itching or a burning sensation in the affected area.

     

  4. C3 : Edema : In this stage of venous insufficiency, there develops a prominently visible swelling in the legs around the affected veins. While daily use of compression stockings may offer extended support to the veins, it is vital to address the underlying cause of the symptoms for long term relief or the condition is bound to get worse over time.

     

  5. C4 : Skin Changes : By this stage of the venous disease, the skin around the affected veins tends to change its color, texture, and the overall look and feel. It some cases, patients have reported skin discoloration and eczema as well. 

     

  6. C5 : Healed venous ulcer : Excessive pressure on the varicose veins and highly restricted blood flow may cause the leg tissues to die thus forming an open ulcer. This is not a very serious condition as the ulcer generally heals on its own as soon as the blood flow is rectified and brought back to normal.

     

  7. C6 : Active venous ulcer : This is the final and the most severe stage of venous insufficiency. Although found in less than 1% of the total reported cases of venous diseases, this is a serious health hazard. Prolonged therapy is needed for an effective cure of this condition. Endovenous laser treatment with extended compression therapy sessions may be suggested for quick wound healing.

Treatments

Venous diseases hampers the patient’s overall quality of life. Owing to its progressive nature, a vein issue has a high tendency of getting worse with growing age. It is important to be able to differentiate between the various stages of venous insufficiency for pinpoint diagnosis and timely treatment.

Dr. Rajah V Koppala at Avis Hospitals has international medical certifications and years of extensive experience in offering the most advanced treatments for the various different stages of venous insufficiency.

He always analyses each patient’s unique symptoms and thoroughly goes through his/her medical history before advising medications or therapies. With the most technologically advanced medical care provisions of non-invasive treatments like laser ablation for venous diseases, Avis Hospitals is the most reliable medical centre for any vein diseases. Schedule a consultation with Dr. Rajah V Koppala today, visit : http://www.avishospitals.com/