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Varicose Veins
Varicose veins are enlarged, raised and often twisting veins visible under the skin of the legs, usually blue or purple. They sit a step beyond spider veins in size and depth, and they form when the one-way valves inside leg veins no longer close properly. Beyond their appearance, they can bring heaviness, aching or swelling.
When the valves stop holding
Leg veins contain small one-way valves that open to let blood move up toward the heart and close to stop it falling back between calf-muscle contractions. When a valve fails, through inherited wall weakness, pregnancy or wear, some blood refluxes and pools in the segment below. The added pressure stretches the vein and forces the next valves to leak in turn, so the vein lengthens and twists into a cord.
How do varicose veins form?
Varicose veins trace back to valve failure and the reflux it creates, on a terrain shaped mainly by heredity. Hormones, pregnancy and prolonged standing add load to vein walls and valves already prone to give way. Understanding these factors explains both the visible cords and the heaviness that often comes with them, and why a medical assessment guides care.
Valve failure and reflux
At the heart of varicose veins is a valve that no longer closes. Blood that should keep moving upward refluxes and pools in the segment below, raising pressure there. That pressure stretches the vein and strains the next valve down, which leaks in turn. This self-feeding cycle is why varicose veins enlarge and worsen gradually rather than all at once.
Heredity
The strength of vein walls and valves is largely inherited, so varicose veins often run in families. A close relative with varicose veins raises the likelihood of developing them. Heredity sets how readily valves give way under load, which is why the same standing job can affect one person and spare another.
Hormones and pregnancy
Estrogen and progesterone relax vein walls, and pregnancy adds rising blood volume plus pressure from the growing uterus on the leg veins. This combination is why varicose veins often appear or worsen during pregnancy and why they are more common in women, though men develop them too on an inherited terrain.
Prolonged standing and time
Long hours standing keep venous pressure high and give failing valves no relief, while the natural wear of vein walls over the years adds up. Heat and prolonged standing worsen the heaviness; elevating the legs relieves it. These everyday loads accelerate a process that an inherited terrain has already made likely.
How to Prevent
Personalized treatments for you.
Sclerotherapy
Vascular Lasers
