What are Vein Disease Risk Factors?
Venous insufficiency is common, with 200,000 diagnoses each year just in the U.S. Vein disease may have hereditary causes, so a family history of DVT or CVI can increase your risk. Other risk factors for CVI include being overweight, aging, and previous blood clots.
Women typically have a higher risk than men due to hormonal factors, and pregnancy further increases the likelihood of developing varicose veins because of higher blood flow.
Risk factors include:
- A family history of varicose veins
- Being female
- Being pregnant or having been pregnant
- Professions that require long periods of either standing or sitting
- Obesity
- Age (risks increase after the age of 50)
- Heavy lifting
- Blood clots
- A personal history of varicose veins
- Smoking
- Cancer
- Muscle weakness, leg injury or other trauma
- Phlebitis, or the swelling of a superficial vein
- Lack of exercise or sedentary lifestyle
- Pelvic tumors and vascular malformations
How to Prevent Vein Disease?
If you have any of the risk factors for vein disease, you should pay careful attention to your diet and lifestyle to prevent the formation of blood clots or the development of other conditions related to insufficient blood flow. There are some steps you can take to modify your daily activities to decrease your chances of serious complications:
- Get up and move around at least five minutes each hour.
- Don’t smoke or quit if you do.
- Exercise regularly.
- Lose weight or maintain healthy body weight.
- Don’t cross your legs when seated.
- Wear compression hose or socks when you must sit for long periods, such as on a plane.
Diagnosing Vein Disease
A definitive diagnosis of vein disease requires a clinical exam by a trained vein specialist or diagnostician. The duplex ultrasound is one of the most common tests for diagnosing venous disease.
A duplex ultrasound, the most accurate diagnostic test for venous disease, combines the best of traditional ultrasound and Doppler ultrasound. The doctor or technician moves a transducer over the test area to measure the speed and direction of the blood flow by bouncing sound off red blood cells. A computer program measures the reflection of the sound and creates pictures from the sound waves to assist the physician in diagnosing problems with blood flow.
Speak With Doctors You Can Trust
Vein disease is a very personal thing, but it’s not something you need to be ashamed of. Speaking with a vein doctor about CVI may allow you to find relief from spider veins and leg pain. With state-of-the-art vein treatment options, it’s often possible to correct CVI and prevent blood clots from forming. To learn more about how our team of vein specialists can help you personally, contact Gilvydis Vein Clinic for more information. You can also click below to schedule a free consultation and vein screening to get started.