How Treating Varicose Veins Can Improve Your Vascular Health

Varicose veins are the dreaded cousin of spider veins, those fine tracings of blue, red, and purple that show through the skin of your face and legs. However, unlike spider veins, varicose veins bulge, swell, and even hurt — not to mention they’ll be much more likely to cause vascular and circulatory system issues.

At Apex Endovascular in Fort Collins, Colorado, Dr. Shawn Ahmed and his team can diagnose varicose veins, assess their threat level to your vascular health, and perform minimally invasive procedures to resolve the issue. Here’s what you need to know.

Varicose veins basics

Your circulatory system is a one-way loop. Blood flows away from the heart via arteries, and it flows back through veins. There are tiny valves where veins intersect, to keep blood from flowing in the wrong direction. 

If these valves are damaged by high blood pressure or anything else, blood can flow backwards and pool up, forming an area of sluggish flow that’s insufficient to meet your body’s needs. 

Varicose veins are signs of failed valves and pooling blood in your legs, the hardest part of your body to pump blood back up from because of gravity. The leg veins most likely to be affected are the ones nearest the surface that have the least muscle support. These veins can bulge, twist, and almost appear to knot under the skin, and feel swollen, hot, or painful. 

Treatments for varicose veins

We typically start with a consult and an ultrasound or other tests to identify how many varicose veins you have, their severity, and where exactly they’re located. Once your varicose veins are mapped, Dr. Ahmed typically deals with them in one of these ways:

• Venaseal™, a process that uses a medical adhesive to close off the vein
• Endovenous laser therapy (EVLT), that uses laser energy to heat and shut the vein
• Radiofrequency vein ablation, that causes scar tissue to permanently block the vein
• Varithena® sclerotherapy, that uses foam to irritate, damage, and close the vein
• Phlebectomy, that allows the vein to be removed through tiny punctures in the skin

All of these procedures can be performed in our office, with twilight sedation, if required. Blood reroutes from the closed or removed varicose vein to another, healthier vein in the same area of the leg. 

The goal of these treatments is to block or destroy varicose veins that are causing blood to pool, allowing other, healthier veins to take over and improving your vascular health.

To learn more and to schedule a consultation with Dr. Ahmed, call us at 970-508-8439, or book online using our convenient interactive system.