You’ve hit your 40s and, seemingly overnight, you’re seeing changes in your body. From achier joints to more wrinkles, aging can affect you inside and out.
When it comes to varicose veins, aging can be a big factor — more than 33 million Americans between the ages of 40 and 80 have varicose veins. So, if you’ve entered your fourth decade and your once-smooth legs now have bulging, twisting veins, you’re certainly not alone.
The good news is that here at Upper East Side Cardiology and the Vein Institute, we know the science behind varicose veins. Our vascular team, which is led by leading cardiologist Dr. Satjit Bhusri, is well familiar with the connection between aging and varicose veins, and we want to share what we know here.
The veins in your legs are responsible for circulating blood back up to your heart for more oxygen. These blood vessels have a tougher job than most in your body because they’re fighting distance and gravity.
To help, the veins in your legs feature tiny, one-way valves that close as blood passes through with the goal of keeping the blood flowing back up to your heart and lungs.
One of the leading drivers of varicose veins is chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which is a venous disease that occurs in 50% of women over the age of 50 and 20% of men in the same age group.
With CVI, the valves in your leg veins weaken and don’t close all the way, which allows blood to spill backward. When this happens, the blood can engorge a superficial vein and push it toward the surface of your skin, creating a varicose vein.
Another reason why varicose veins are tied to age is that you can lose muscle as you get older. As much as the veins in your legs rely on the valves we just described above, they also count on strong calf muscles to help push the blood back up to your heart. So, when your calf muscles weaken, blood can pool in your lower legs and lead to varicose veins.
Called sarcopenia, this age-related progressive loss of muscle is common. A great way to fight back against sarcopenia is to redouble your strengthening efforts, paying close attention to your calves.
Over time, your blood vessels can feel the effects of aging, and they can become stiffer and lose their elasticity. Like natural muscle loss, this is a common side effect of aging, and one of the possible outward signs of this issue are varicose veins.
While age might be inevitable, varicose veins are certainly something you don't have to resign yourself to. At our Vein Institute, we offer a wide range of quick-and-easy vein treatments that can get rid of your varicose veins.
And once we free your legs from these unsightly veins, we can go over ways you can prevent varicose veins from reforming.
To explore your varicose vein treatment options and for tips on preventing varicose veins after 40, you can request an appointment online at our New York City office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan or you can call us at (212) 752-3464.
