Chronic Venous Insufficiency - Symptoms, Causes and treat

Chronic venous insufficiency or CVI is impaired blood flow in vessels leg venous return.This condition will make the legs become swollen.

Veins function to drain blood back to the heart, with the help of the valves that run along the veins. In people with CVI, these valves don't work normally, so blood doesn't flow properly to the heart.

This condition can cause blood to build up in the veins of the legs, and fluid in the blood will seep out of the veins into the surrounding tissues. This causes the legs to swell.

Damage to the valves of the veins can occur with age, and is triggered by sitting or standing for too long. CVI is a disease that is prolonged (chronic), but is not life-threatening for the sufferer.

Symptom Chronic Venous Insufficiency

The appearance of CVI is characterized by the following symptoms:

Swelling in the legs
Varicose veins in legs
Pain in the calf that feels like pressure and is accompanied by itching
The appearance of pain in the legs when walking and disappears when resting.
The skin turns dark.
There are sores on the legs that are difficult to treat.
Sudden movement of limbs without command (restless leg syndrome).

If not treated properly, CVI can cause blood vessels to become inflamed, or even burst. When the blood vessels become inflamed, the skin in the area will appear red. This condition can cause infection or cellulitis in the tissue around the blood vessels, as well as the appearance of sores that are difficult to treat.

Call your doctor right away if your leg is swollen, especially if it occurs after sitting or standing for too long.

Risk Factor Chronic Venous Insufficiency

Damage to the valves in the veins in CVI can result from:

aging process
Frequently standing or sitting for long periods of time.
Formation of blood clots due to disease deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
Blood vessel deformities.
Tumors in the pelvic area.

CVI is more common in people who are over 50 years old, rarely exercise, are obese, have hypertension, or are smokers.

Diagnosis Chronic Venous Insufficiency

To confirm that the swollen leg is caused by CVI, the doctor will ask about the events that cause swelling in the leg and the disease that has been or is being suffered by the patient. After that, the doctor will perform a physical examination and follow-up examinations, in the form of:

Doppler ultrasound of the leg. Doppler ultrasound is done to check the speed and direction of blood flow. The doctor will attach and press the ultrasound device to the swollen leg of the patient.
Venographyfi. This procedure is done to see the condition of the veins suspected of having CVI, with the help of an R-ray, the doctor will first insert a special dye (contrast) into the veins. After that, just scanned with X-rays.
MRV (Magnetic Resonance Venography). This method is used to see the condition of the veins suspected of having CVI, with the help of magnetic waves.

Treatment Chronic Venous Insufficiency

In mild CVI, the doctor will advise the patient to exercise regularly, avoid sitting cross-legged, and avoid hanging limbs. The doctor will also ask the patient to use stockings special. Stockings this is named stockings compression, which will help improve blood flow to the leg so that leg swelling can subside.

If the condition does not improve with use stockings, there are several other treatment methods that can be done to relieve CVI, namely:

Drugs. Some types of drugs that can be consumed to treat CVI are:
- Blood thinners, to prevent the formation of blood clots. Examples are heparin, warfarin, or rivaroxaban.
- Diuretic drugs, to reduce fluid that accumulates in the body. An example is furosemide.
- Pentoxyfilline, which is a drug to improve blood flow.
Sclerotherapy.Sclerotherapy is done by injecting special drugs into the veins to injure and close the veins. Veins that have been closed will be absorbed by the body, and blood flow will pass through other veins.
Radiofrequency ablation or RFA. The RFA method is carried out with the help of a small tube (catheter) and a special light to close the problematic veins, so that blood does not flow through these vessels.
Surgery.In severe enough CVI, the doctor will suggest surgery or surgery. Surgery on CVI can be performed to:
- Repair damaged veins or valves.
- Removing the veins experiencing CVI.
- Perform a new vein graftbypass veins), so that blood flow does not pass through the veins experiencing CVI.
- Binds or seals damaged veins.