Aging
Varicose Veins
Varicose veins is a medical condition where the veins have become enlarged and twisted. It commonly occurs in the legs, especially the superficial veins, although may be found in other places.
The most common cause is standing for long periods of time. As the veins become chronically distended, the valves found within the veins that are responsible for preventing backflow stop working. Because the valves are less efficient, blood pools in the veins which only increase the dilation. Now blood is just sitting there making the area appear swelled. This alteration in the anatomy carries out several effects:
A. Because blood is pooling in the veins, less blood is going to the heart and being pumped to other regions of the body. Blood carries oxygen and nutriments that body parts need to perform.
B. Blood that is pooling in the area is not oxygenated. As a result, the skin within that area is lacking oxygen and nutriments, making it thinner and eventually reputing (venous stasis ulcers). Venous stasis ulcers are hard to treat because of the restriction of fresh blood.
C. When blood remains confined in an area with minimal movement, the risk of a clot forming increases (deep vein thrombosis). This may problematic as the clot may dislodge (embolus), travel through the circulatory system and get stuck in the lungs (pulmonary thromboembolism). This means that the clot is occluding an artery found within the lungs and so areas following that clot are not getting any blood/oxygen. This stresses the heart. Pulmonary thromboembolism is not a disease itself, rather a complication of varicose veins.
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