Venous Insufficiency 1
Monday, March 31, 2008

Swelling and pain in your legs and ankles is a common problem.  Dr. Ken suggests a diagnosis for you in today’s 60 second housecall.

The veins return the blood to your heart.  When you are upright, the muscles in your legs squeeze the veins to propel the blood against gravity.  The leg veins have valves that prevent the blood from flowing backward down the legs.  In venous insufficiency, the veins and valves are damaged and blood pools in the feet and lower legs. 

Symptoms of venous insufficiency include:

- Swelling of the legs

- Dull aching, heaviness or cramping in legs

- Leg pain gets worse when standing, and

- Pain improves when raising your legs

Persons with chronic venous insufficiency may also have:

- Skin color changes around the ankles

- Redness of legs and ankles

- Thickening of the skin on legs and ankles, and

- Ulcers on the legs and ankles – known as venous stasis ulcers

Tomorrow we will discuss the diagnosis and treatment of venous insufficiency.

For North Mississippi Medical Center, I’m Dr. Ken Davis.