10/05/2017
What Is Venous Insufficiency?
Venous insufficiency, or venous disease, is when the blood is improperly flowing back to the heart. The irregular blood flow is due to a problem in the valves in the veins of the legs. This means, the vein valves are not pumping blood back to the heart in the manner they should be. When the vein valves malfunction, the blood begins to pool in the legs, ankles, and feet, because it is not being pumped out of the legs. When valves work properly, they open and close to move the blood back to the heart.
With venous insufficiency, the vein valves are damaged, most likely, from excessive pressure on the body, especially the legs. When the blood begins to pool in the lower body, a person will feel a heaviness, achiness, and fatigue in those areas. These damaged valves, along with the blood pooling, can lead to the development of problems such as varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis (blood clots), and other skin changes.
If these damaged valves go untreated, more pressure will continue to build and even more valves will become damaged. As the valves and veins worsen, a person can develop leg pain, ulcers, swelling, and even more serious conditions and problems.
