Venous Insufficiency

Venous insufficiency is the term used when your veins aren’t functioning properly. The result is poor circulation and symptoms like varicose veins that directly impact your quality of life. You may feel tired and listless when afflicted with poor circulation. You can get help at the Astra Vein Treatment. This top-rated vein clinic in Brooklyn and Bronx treats venous insufficiency to get you back on your feet and feeling fine. Call Dr. George Bolotin for surprisingly fast and effective treatment of venous insufficiency and other vein conditions.

What Is Venous Insufficiency?

Venous insufficiency refers to a medical condition that affects your veins. Normally, your veins carry blood back to your heart and lungs using a series of valves that keep your blood moving in the right direction. Venous insufficiency occurs when the valves in some veins cease to function properly, impeding your circulation.

Faulty vein valves not only don’t keep blood moving toward your heart, but they also allow blood to flow backward and build up in certain places. When blood stops moving, it pools in the damaged vein, stretching the vein walls, resulting in an unsightly varicose vein. Usually, this occurs in your legs because that’s where your veins also have to fight gravity.

When this condition is continuous, it becomes chronic venous insufficiency. Severe cases can lead to a venous stasis ulcer. If you suffer from painful varicose veins or a venous stasis ulcer, visit a vascular specialist in Brooklyn, NY and Bronx, NY for an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. Dr. George Bolotin,  an Interventional Radiologist who focuses on vein problems, leads one of the top vein clinics in Brooklyn and Bronx: the Astra Vein Treatment Center.

What Causes Chronic Venous Insufficiency?

Most often, it’s damaged vein valves that cause chronic venous insufficiency. By allowing blood to flow backward and pool, they promote varicose veins, a sign of venous insufficiency. Many factors lead to this condition, including:

• A history of high blood pressure
• Leg fatigue from extended periods of standing or sitting
• A lack of exercise
• Tobacco smoking
• Deep vein thrombosis,  a deep blood clot in your leg
• Phlebitis, an inflammation of a vein, usually in your leg

Venous insufficiency can happen to all sorts of people. But you’re more likely to develop it if you:

• Have a genetic predisposition to the condition
• Are obese
• Have been diagnosed, diabetic
• Are pregnant
• Have suffered from leg injuries or blood clots
• Had previous leg surgeries
• Have an occupation that demands long periods of sitting and standing

What Are Complications from Chronic Venous Insufficiency?

If you don’t see a varicose vein doctor in Brooklyn and Bronx and you develop venous insufficiency, it can turn into a chronic condition. Left untreated, chronic venous insufficiency can lead to severe health problems, such as:

• A venous stasis ulcer, a slow-healing wound
• Venous eczema, irritated skin on your legs
• Skin infections and cellulitis
• Lymphoedema, inflammation of your lymph nodes
• Lipodermatosclerosis, changes to the skin on your legs

You may be developing venous insufficiency if you notice new varicose veins forming or swelling in your lower legs. If your legs and feet start to itch, that’s another sign. It’s better to get a proper diagnosis early than wait too long. Visit a top vascular specialist like Dr. Bolotin at the Astra Vein Treatment Center, a top vein center in Brooklyn, NY and Bronx, NY.

What Are Effective Treatments for Venous Insufficiency?

As with most diseases, venous insufficiency is best treated during its early stages. Your vascular specialist usually recommends a combination of treatments. Depending on the severity of your condition, Dr. Bolotin may start with the least invasive treatment. Effective treatments include

• Lifestyle changes. Avoid sitting or standing for long periods during the day. Alternate between sitting and standing as often as possible. Flex your legs and feet 10 times every 30 minutes.
• Exercise. Regular physical activity like walking improves your leg circulation.
• Weight loss. Extra pounds put pressure on the blood flow in your legs. Shed the weight so your body doesn’t have to work so hard.
• Elevation. Put your feet up whenever possible to improve the blood flow back to your heart.
• Hygiene. Keep your skin clean and well-moisturized, especially if you notice changes.
• Compression stockings. Support hose promotes circulation in your legs. Don’t let your stockings bunch up, though, as this reduces your circulation.
• Medicine. Your Brooklyn and Bronx vein specialist may prescribe antibiotics if you’re suffering from an infection.
• Sclerotherapy. Dr. Bolotin injects a foamy solution into your problem vein, forcing it to collapse. The blood flows through a nearby healthy vein, and the varicose vein eventually fades.
• Endovenous laser ablation. Your vein specialist uses laser heat to seal off problem veins in a minimally invasive procedure.
• Endovenous radiofrequency ablation. Instead of a laser, this procedure relies on high-frequency radio waves to generate the heat to collapse problem veins.
• Ambulatory phlebotomy. For this minimally invasive surgery procedure, your varicose vein doctor in Brooklyn and Bronx makes tiny incisions on both ends of the veins and physically removes them.

Dr. Bolotin also offers skin ulcer treatments, venous stasis treatments, and venous stasis dermatitis treatments. An Interventional Radiologist, he handles diseases and injuries to your veins with expertise and compassion. Visit his vein clinic in Brooklyn and Bronx to get personalized care. Call the Astra Vein Treatment Center today to schedule your first appointment.