A NJ Vascular Doctor Explains the Two Main Categories of Vein Disease

Information may not be reliable

To understand the kinds of disease that can affect your veins, you need to know a few things about how your veins work when they're healthy. First, arteries have internal muscles to pump blood, but your veins don't, so they have to rely on the contraction of nearby muscles to provide the "pumping" action that routes deoxygenated blood and waste materials to the heart and lungs for renewal. Second, the thing that keeps blood flowing in the right direction is a series of tiny valves in each vein that open when the muscles that surround them compress the veins and then close again immediately afterwards to stop blood from flowing backwards, away from the heart.

What can interfere with your veins working properly?

According to our New Jersey vein expert, there are two medical conditions that can interfere with the healthy flow of blood through your veins. The first is called insufficiency, in which the venous valves become "leaky" as the result of disease or injury and fail to close, allowing blood to flow back into the veins and collect there. The second condition that can affect veins is called thrombosis, in which blood clots or thrombi form along the inner walls of the veins. Blood clots restrict blood flow because they narrow the veins, and thus can damage your overall circulation. But thrombosis can be far more dangerous, because often the blood clots don't stay where they originally formed. Instead they break loose and travel to other locations in the body, where they can cause serious and sometimes fatal damage.

The most common type of vein disease is insufficiency

Chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI, is the most common form of vein disease. It causes blood to pool in the affected veins, which become swollen and discolored as they take on the bluish-purple color of deoxygenated blood. The resulting varicose veins are not only unattractive, they are often accompanied by symptoms such as painfully swollen legs and ankles and chronic tiredness. Left untreated, varicose veins can cause changes in skin color and texture, bleeding leg ulcers that refuse to heal, and an increased susceptibility to more serious conditions like obesity, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.

Thrombosis is not as common, but is much more dangerous

The most common form of thrombosis, the second type of vein disease, is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), so called because the blood clots form in the large, deep veins of the leg. These veins are so far from the surface of the skin that visible symptoms of DVT rarely appear, with the result that most people who have DVT don't know that they have it. This is extremely dangerous, because if the blood clots travel to your lungs they can cause a pulmonary embolism, and if they travel to your brain they can cause a stroke. These two complications of DVT kill over 300,000 Americans every year.

How do you know if you have (or are at risk for) CVI and DVT?

Because surface symptoms do not always appear, the only sure way to know if you have either of these conditions is to call a top vein doctor in Bergen County to schedule a venous health screening. These screenings are fast, painless, and non-invasive, and can detect both types of vein disease. If your New Jersey vascular doctor detects signs of CVI or DVT they can treat them equally painlessly, and if they find that you don't have vein disease yet but are at high risk for it, they can help you prevent it. So call Dr. John Chuback today at 201-693-4847 to start the process of keeping your veins healthy.

Author Bio: A prominent Best Spider Vein Treatment In Nj explains thrombosis and insufficiency, the two main categories of vein disease.  If your NJ Vascular Doctor detects signs of CVI or DVT they can treat them equally painlessly.