Painful and heavy legs as well as the sensation of swelling are the 3 main complaints given by patients. The venous disease may have serious consequences such as venous ulcers, deep venous thrombosis or embolisms.
The environment plays an important role in the occurrence of the troubles. Indeed, the venous disease gets worse with a sedentary life, with obesity or with the ageing of the population.
Diagnose venous insufficiency
The diagnosis of superficial venous insufficiency goes through a medical step which is essential:
Taking some time to talk with the patient is important. Usually, the complaint from the patient can be linked to a venous cause. It is important also to ask for the patient’s history or family history and recognise the factors of risk.
The medical assessment is done in a dorsal decubitus position and in standing position. The palpation of the pulse is mandatory for patients over 50 as well as the measure of the pressure index at the ankle for which normal values are contained between 0.90 and 1.20.
The seriousness of the damage and the risk of evolution are evaluated during the medical assessment.