15, 4, 2020

Olympic Athletes Who Suffer from Varicose Veins

2022-01-03T13:04:37-08:00

Even Olympic gold medalists get varicose veins! Including swimmers and beach volleyball players…….

It is a huge misconception that people who take care of their bodies don’t get varicose veins.  In contrast, most of our patients take great care of their health.  At La Jolla Vein Care, we routinely care for competitive athletes, marathon runners, Iron Man competitors who all suffer from varicose veins and its underlying cause venous reflux disease. We see it all.

Olympic swimmer and gold-medalist, Summer Sanders shares her story of suffering from varicose veins. “As a life-long athlete and Olympic swimmer, I never thought a condition like varicose veins or chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) would affect me. It soon hit me that, even though I was active, I was starting to get my mother’s legs.

It’s important for people to realize that varicose veins and CVI can happen to anyone and they are more than just a cosmetic issue. But you don’t have to live with the uncomfortable and painful symptoms. There are minimally-invasive treatments available that are covered by many insurance plans.

In the past, Summer shared her story as the spokesperson of a campaign called “Rethink Varicose Veins,” which aims to educate the public about this common condition and help to dispel some myths.

“Like many moms, my lifestyle requires me to be on my feet constantly. I noticed my legs were heavy and achy after a long day, but I assumed these symptoms were just something I had to deal with,” says Summer. “My doctor and I decided the best path for me was a minimally-invasive treatment. The procedure was quick and I was back to my regular activities within a short period of time. Now my legs feel great!”

Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor is another athlete who is outspoken about her varicose vein condition. Misty May-Treanor has three consecutive gold medals under her belt for beach volleyball! If you are suffering from varicose veins, you are not alone!

 

Olympic Athletes Who Suffer from Varicose Veins2022-01-03T13:04:37-08:00

Ask a Vein Expert: Live Session

2021-11-04T13:52:03-07:00

Board-certified Vascular Surgeon Answers Your Questions April 24th at 10 AM on Instagram.

Live Question and Answer Session Live stream on Instagram La Jolla Vein Care

Live Question and Answer Session
Live stream on instagram

Please join us on April 24th at 10 AM on Instagram.  Dr. Sarah Lucas, vascular surgeon and specialist in varicose vein care, will be answering your questions and addressing your vein health concerns.  She will share some suggestions on measures you can take at home to care for your legs (@lajollaveincare).
Ask a Vein Expert: Live Session2021-11-04T13:52:03-07:00

Easter Dinner & Leg Pain: What’s the Correlation?

2021-11-04T19:53:27-07:00

After a holiday, patients frequently complain about leg pain. Especially, holidays where hours of cooking are involved like Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas, Passover, etc. Some people who may have mild venous reflux disease, may not notice any symptoms until they are standing for hours- like during cooking. Over the years, we always hear from patients that their legs were aching and fatigued after cooking. The reason for this is venous reflux disease causes backflow of blood. The blood pools in the legs and the pooling of blood causes sensations of heaviness, fatigue, aching, and even night cramps and restlessness. Ankle swelling may also be more prominent. Elevating the legs allows the blood to flow in the correct direction and reduces the pooling of blood and symptoms. Wearing compression stockings during cooking can be helpful to reduce symptoms. Also when standing upright for hours, it is helpful to do calf pump raises.

Diagram of healthy and diseased vein valves

Leaky vein valves allow blood to pool, causing leg pain, heaviness, and fatigue.

Easter Dinner & Leg Pain: What’s the Correlation?2021-11-04T19:53:27-07:00

6 Stages of Venous Disease, Which Stage Am I?

2021-11-13T12:32:18-08:00

Venous Reflux Disease is progressive and worsens over time.

venous disease is progressive and worsens over time.

venous disease is progressive and worsens over time.

Venous reflux disease is also known as venous stasis, chronic venous insufficiency, or venous incompetence. Venous reflux disease refers to ‘leaky valves in the veins of the legs. Reflux may occur in the deep and/or superficial leg veins. The deep veins are those within the muscle; they bring at least 80-90% of the blood from the legs back to the heart. The superficial veins are outside of the muscle and under the skin. The main superficial veins are the Great Saphenous Vein that courses up the middle of the thigh and calf and the small saphenous vein, which courses up the back of the calf. Normally, there are one-way valves within the leg veins, which help blood flow in one direction: toward the heart. This means blood is traveling against gravity. The calf muscle also helps move blood toward the heart. When vein valves are leaky, blood flows backward (reflux) towards the feet. Blood pools in the lower legs, causing bulging veins at the surface. Symptoms include leg heaviness, leg fatigue, leg pain, ankle swelling, phlebitis (inflamed and painful veins) restless legs at night, and night cramps. Venous reflux disease is progressive and worsens over time. Skin changes may also develop, including darkening of the skin around the ankles. The darkening of the skin is sometimes referred to as

skin changes. The skin can become dry and itchy (venous eczema). Eventually, the skin can break down causing a wound, called a venous leg ulcer. See the image to better understand the 6 main stages of venous disease. Stage 6 is the open leg wound, known as a venous leg ulcer.

Stage 1. Healthy Veins, Stage 2. Spider Veins

Stage 1. Healthy Veins, Stage 2. Spider Veins

Stage 3. reticular veins and varicose veins

Stage 3. reticular veins and varicose veins

Stage 4. Venous Nodes - Edema venous insufficiency

Stage 4. Venous Nodes - Edema venous insufficiency

Stage 5. Chronic insufficiency

Stage 5. Chronic insufficiency

Stage 6. Venous eczema and venous leg ulcer

Stage 6. Venous eczema and venous leg ulcer

6 Stages of Venous Disease, Which Stage Am I?2021-11-13T12:32:18-08:00

Hidden Signs That Varicose Veins Are Developing

2021-10-29T19:03:03-07:00

Varicose Veins Are Not Always Visible to the Naked Eye

An estimated 80 million Americans suffer from a vein-related condition. Since most veins lie deep under the skin’s surface, vein disorders are not always visible to the naked eye. As a result, it’s important to be aware of the symptoms that might reveal an underlying vein condition such as

A duplex ultrasound examination can be done to properly diagnose varicose veins and underlying vein conditions. An ultrasound uses sound waves to create pictures of the blood vessels inside your body. The ultrasound exam, which is painless and takes fewer than 30 minutes, allows a trained specialist to examine your venous system to determine if your symptoms are connected to a vein-related condition. The good news is that many vein conditions can be easily treated. Often, you just need to look beneath the surface to get moving in the right direction.

Hidden Signs That Varicose Veins Are Developing2021-10-29T19:03:03-07:00

What Your Ankles Say About Your Health

2021-11-13T13:50:53-08:00

5 signs of venous reflux disease were found on the ankles

venous reflux disease were found on the ankles

Venous reflux disease refers to ‘leaky valves in the leg veins. It is also referred to as venous insufficiency. When the one-way valves that help blood in the veins flow from the feet to the heart, no longer work properly, blood begins to pool around the ankles. Over time, the pooling of blood causes increased hydrostatic pressure within the blood vessels. This is referred to as venous hypertension in the medical community. Venous hypertension is associated with chronic venous insufficiency, which means the vein valves have become leaky for a long time before physical signs are apparent. An ultrasound examination can first identify if the underlying veins are weak and leaky not visible to the naked eye, long before physical signs become apparent. Some signs you may see that may indicate underlying venous reflux disease include:

chronic venous insufficiency or venous reflux disease

Darkening of skin, and itchiness are a sign of chronic venous insufficiency or venous reflux disease

  1. Skin darkening around the ankle (hyperpigmentation). This is also referred to as venous stasis. This is a result of long-standing venous reflux or pooling of blood.
  2. Itchy, scaly skin around the ankles. This is referred to as venous eczema. This skin becomes itchy and scaly from chronic inflammation.
  3. spider veins in the inner ankle. These are commonly associated with venous reflux in the great saphenous vein. The great saphenous vein courses the ankle all the way to the groin. When blood pools from thigh upper thigh all the way to the ankle, small spider veins may appear in the ankle. These are commonly perceived as cosmetic because most people don’t realize there is an underlying problem.
  4. ankle swelling (edema). There are many causes for ankle swelling. Some are serious like heart conditions where others are less serious like a salty diet. When ankle swelling is present talk to your doctor about the various causes. However, one of the most common causes of ankle swelling is venous reflux disease. Anyone who has ankle swelling can benefit from an ultrasound examination to determine if venous reflux disease is present.
  5. skin ulceration and breakdown in the ankle. Over time, pooling of blood in the ankles and venous hypertension causes the skin to darken, it can become scaly and itchy and eventually ulcerate because the skin breaks down from chronic inflammation. This is called a venous leg ulcer. Venous leg ulcers are treated by treating the underlying venous reflux disease.

All of these signs and symptoms can be reduced by treating the underlying problem, venous reflux disease. See our treatments page to better understand treatment options.

What Your Ankles Say About Your Health2021-11-13T13:50:53-08:00

La Jolla Vein Care on Telemundo NBC

2021-11-04T13:50:31-07:00

La Jolla Vein Care interviewed about innovative solutions for varicose veins on Telemundo’s Total Acceso.

La Jolla Vein Care was recently featured on Acceso Total, on Telemundo. Office Manager, Anna who is bilingual was interviewed in Spanish and talked about our clinic and what sets up apart from the rest. Patient stories were also given by actual La Jolla Vein Care patients. See our youtube channel to watch this feature.  We are proud to be selected for this feature and enjoyed working with this wonderful crew at Telemundo!

access total 2

Dr. Bunke demonstrates saphenous vein on ultrasound to Access Total.

access total 3

Office Manger, Anna is interviewed for Telemundo’s show

 

La Jolla Vein Care on Telemundo NBC2021-11-04T13:50:31-07:00

What Leg Venous Vein Ultrasound Can Uncover About Your Veins

2021-12-31T13:46:54-08:00

Most vein disease is not visible to the naked eye.

What Leg Vein Ultrasound Can Uncover About Your Veins: blood clots and leaky valves

Leg Vein Ultrasound

We can see beneath the surface of the skin with ultrasound. Duplex ultrasound combines Doppler flow information and conventional imaging information, sometimes called B-mode, to allow physicians to see the structure of your blood vessels. Duplex ultrasound uses sound waves to get images of your blood vessels.  It also helps determine how fast blood moves through the vessels. It can also be useful to estimate the diameter of a blood vessel as well as the amount of obstruction, if any, in the blood vessel. Using duplex ultrasound technology, the structure of your blood vessels, the valve function, the movement of your red blood cells, and the direction of blood flow through the vessels, any blockages, blood clots, and leaky valves can be seen.

Venous Reflux (leaky valves)

Duplex ultrasound of the leg veins

Ultrasounds of the leg veins that look for leaky valves (venous reflux) are usually performed in the standing position.

The Duplex Ultrasound examination allows us to visualize the blood vessels that are not visible to the naked eye, even blood vessels that are deep within the muscles.  Ultrasound looks at deep and superficial veins in the legs to check for venous reflux or venous-valvular incompetence (the underlying condition that causes varicose veins). The ultrasound examination is used to both identify the veins that have faulty valves and to map the anatomy of the veins, creating a ‘road map.’  This is necessary to make an accurate assessment of the cause and extent of the varicose veins, as well as to formulate the best treatment plan.  This should be done for any individual being evaluated for varicose veins, leg swelling, patients who have failed prior treatment, patients who are symptomatic, and in some patients with certain anatomic patterns of spider veins.

Before your test:

This study does not require any preparation. You should not wear your compression stockings the same day as the examination.  Make sure to be hydrated.

How long does it take?

An ultrasound only checking for blood clots typically takes less than 30 minutes. An ultrasound that looks at both the deep and superficial veins including mapping is less than 60 minutes, the part of this exam that checks if the valves are leaky is performed in the standing position.

What Leg Venous Vein Ultrasound Can Uncover About Your Veins2021-12-31T13:46:54-08:00
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CONTACT INFORMATION

La Jolla/UTC

Vista

Patient Privacy Practices

Privacy Policy

Hippa Privacy Practices
HIPAAOneTM Certified Seal 2

Use the search features below to find articles and insights for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease

TWO CONVENIENT LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT SAN DIEGO

La Jolla/ UTC

North County San Diego/ Vista — Endovascular Center
Now Open! Call/Text for Appointments

© Copyright 2010-2024, La Jolla Vein & Vascular | All Rights Reserved

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