Varicose veins: causes

Varicose veins are considered a disease of hairdressers, teachers, office workers - people who put extra strain on their legs. Varicose veins are found in a quarter of the world's population - that's how far they have spread. How can you tell if varicose veins have already started and take the necessary measures to treat them? What is varicose vein prevention?

What are varicose veins?

Translated from Latin, this word means "knot" - varix. And indeed, with chronic development of varicose veins, if it is not treated for a long time and the legs are not taken care of, you can see swollen veins with nodules on them. This means that the blood flow in them is impaired.

Varicose veins occur due to the weakness of their walls and increased blood flow pressure. The veins dilate above the vein valves, so nodules appear in them in places where more blood accumulates. Venous blood circulation is disrupted due to a malfunction of the venous system itself, their pathologies, or as a result of general disorders in the body.

Why and how do blood clots form in veins?

Blood clots in veins are a complication after veins expand, a consequence of the diagnosis of varicose veins. A person gets blood clots in veins 5-6 times more often than blood clots in arteries. A person gets blood clots in leg veins 3-4 times more often than blood clots in arm arteries. Why does this happen? We already know that blood moves through vessels at different speeds. In the center of the artery, its largest particles move - erythrocytes, and they move at the highest speed. And at the ends of the arteries, smaller particles move, and at a lower speed. This feature plays a very important role in the formation of blood clots.

When venous and arterial blood disrupt their flow, the speed of blood flow becomes slower. Blood becomes viscous, which makes it run even slower. All blood cells - erythrocytes, thrombocytes, leukocytes do not run separately, as it was before, but gather together, which disrupts the composition of the blood. If there are too many erythrocytes, vein blockages occur.

Blood clots in veins

Platelets play an even more sinister role than red blood cells – accumulating, they form a blood clot from the protein fibrin. It attaches to the wall of the vein, but not all of the clot remains in the cavity of the vessel, preventing blood from flowing freely through it. Gradually, the dilated veins become inflamed along with the clot that is in them. And then doctors diagnose the disease – thrombophlebitis.

If bacteria get into a blood clot, a thrombus, the thrombus can start to fester, and because of the pus it disintegrates. And with the bloodstream, this infectious formation can spread throughout the entire circulatory system, infecting the entire body. This is very dangerous for life. And if a thrombus breaks off from the wall of a vein, it rushes throughout the entire bloodstream. This is a life-threatening condition, because it can end in a heart attack or stroke.

If a blood clot gets into an artery that leads to the lungs, the artery becomes blocked, oxygen does not reach the lungs, and the person dies instantly.

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How does venous dysfunction develop?

What happens as a result of varicose veins? Let's turn to anatomy. When blood passes through the internal organs, it gives them nutrients and also saturates them with oxygen. In response, the internal organs give the blood metabolic products - toxins. This exchange mainly occurs in the capillaries - small blood vessels, narrow and thin. Then the blood goes to the venules (these are the veins, the tiniest), and from them - to large deep veins with a decent diameter.

Blood moves through the vessels thanks to the heart. That is why it is called the motor, the pump, the most vital organ. From the heart, blood moves through the arteries to the legs, this can be easily understood, since the blood goes from top to bottom. But how does blood circulate from the legs to the heart, that is, from bottom to top? The secret is simple: thanks to venous and arterial pressure.

When the arteries begin to pulse, the muscles of the lower leg and thigh contract. These contractions create pressure in the arteries (arterial pressure), and the blood from the lower leg rises through the deep veins to the pelvis and from there enters the lungs. Arterial and venous blood should not mix. This process is strictly controlled by valves that allow blood to pass in one direction and not in the other.

Circulatory system

It consists of vessels - very elastic and strong. When their elasticity is lost, a person has problems with blood circulation, pressure and the condition of the veins at the same time. In order for the vessels to pass blood, they must be strong and flexible, since blood has a viscous consistency. Blood consists of plasma and some substances that do not exist in pure form, but mix with plasma in the middle of the heart and sometimes in places where the vessels branch. Then the blood again breaks down into individual enzymes.

Therefore, the vessels receive different loads associated with different blood compositions and different flow rates. For example, red blood cells move in the center of the vessels. They run very quickly, giving the highest speed in the center of the vessel, and therefore the highest pressure. Red blood cells are the largest compared to other blood cells. And from the ends of the blood vessels, other blood particles move, smaller and slower. The blood flow rate there is quite slow, much slower than in the center. This has a strong effect on the walls of the veins, which also have different thicknesses.

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Structure of veins

The vein does not consist of one layer, because otherwise it would quickly burst under the pressure of the blood. The wall of the vein is like a sheet of dough, it has several layers. The inner layer of the vein closest to the blood flow is called the endothelial layer. This layer plays a responsible role - it maintains blood pressure on the walls of the vein. After it, there are two more layers - the middle and muscular, which contain smooth muscles.

And then comes the fibrous layer. That's how strong the vein is designed to be.

The muscular layer of the vein acts as a regulator, expanding and contracting the vein as needed. When the vessel walls contract, the pressure in the vessel increases. When the vessel walls expand, the pressure decreases. This is the role that veins are designed to play, to regulate blood flow, which is what they are designed for.

When blood flow is disrupted

When the blood in the veins flows slowly or stops completely, the blood remains in the deep venous system. It increases its pressure, and the vein valves cannot function properly. Doctors can diagnose this as valve failure in large diameter veins. And then there is too much blood in the veins, it presses on their walls, and the walls of the veins are not rubber. They hold back the blood flow as much as possible, and then they can not withstand it.

They lose their elasticity, they expand, the fibers that make up the vein walls break, the vein walls stretch, becoming flabby and weak. They can no longer do their job as well as before. They become like a hose, with some areas full of blood and swollen, and others less so and smaller in diameter.

When the walls of the veins weaken, become like a sieve, plasma seeps into the fluid that is between the tissues. This causes swelling in a person. First of all, this swelling is clearly visible on the legs. The vessels become more permeable, the smallest blood cells - lymphocytes - come out of them first. Then the largest blood cells - erythrocytes - penetrate through the walls of the vessels, they give the veins such a dark blue tint. It is because of them that swollen blue strings - both narrow and wider - are visible through the thin pink skin of the legs. So with varicose veins, they are painted in a dark blue color.

How venous vessels are deformed

When edema compresses capillaries, their diameter decreases. Blood particles and plasma protein get into the space between the tissues. This protein contributes to the development of connective tissue in the skin and subcutaneous tissue, which should not be there. This causes sclerosis of capillaries and vessels, that is, their atrophy, a change in structure.

As a result, the capillaries lose their ability to contract, become immobile - now they are ordinary tubes, with a narrow diameter at that. Metabolic processes in them are disrupted, as a result of which ulcers form on the tissues, dermatitis appears. And finally, if earlier, thanks to the work of the valves and the elasticity of the vessel walls, the blood from the arteries and veins did not mix, now arterial blood can enter the veins and vice versa - venous blood can mix with arterial blood.

A person suffers from hypoxia – oxygen starvation, tissues lack oxygen. Most often, this process affects the shin, its lower part.

The skin in these areas is cold to the touch, it becomes blue. If you do not start treating damaged veins immediately, ulcers will form on the legs - they are called trophic ulcers. It is very difficult to cure them, sometimes it is impossible at all.

Therefore, it is better not to allow trophic ulcers to form.