People come into CiC complaining of chronic leg pain with swollen and achy legs, wondering what causes these symptoms. A CiC vein specialist can perform a comprehensive Venous Health Screening, which includes a complete physical examination, as well as use Doppler ultrasound to look beneath the surface of the skin. In many cases, we find that the cause of their symptoms is a condition known as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). CVI leads to abnormal or malfunctioning valves within the veins, that can lead to varicose veins.

“When we tell the patients this,” says Dr. Garby, “the phrase we hear over and over is, But…I’m too young to have varicose veins!”

At CiC, we hear this phrase from patients in their 40’s and 50’s, but also from much younger patients. And we understand their disbelief, because in some cases their varicose veins aren’t even visible on the surface of the skin, at least not yet. A thorough ultrasound analysis can clearly identify the presence of diseased veins beneath the skin surface, and that’s how we diagnose their condition.

Because this IS such a common response, we’ve decided to discuss the question of age and how it relates to varicose veins. We think that after reading this blog, you’ll be able to better understand who gets varicose veins. You’ll also learn why they get them and at what ages they get them. We hope this information will help you to seek and find the best varicose vein treatment near you.

No, you’re NOT too young to get varicose veins

The belief that varicose veins only happen to older people is widespread, but it is false. It’s true that most cases of varicose veins occur among older people. Statistically, over half of women over 65 have them, but fewer than 1 in 20 women under 24 have them. But…”1 in 20″ is still a large number, and we have seen cases of people developing varicose veins as early as their teens and early 20’s.

And no, they’re not just a “women’s problem” – men get varicose veins, too

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), varicose veins affect nearly 17% of men in the United States. Many of these men are developing varicose veins earlier in life, as well.

What people of all ages need to know about what causes varicose veins

So what causes varicose veins? In this section, we’ll talk about the things that increase a person’s risk of developing vein disease and varicose veins.

Your age IS an important factor to consider when assessing your vein disease risk, but it’s not the most important factor. That would probably be heredity. If both of your parents had varicose veins, you have a 90% chance of developing them yourself. If only one of your parents had them, you have a 60% chance of getting them if you’re female, and a 20% chance if you’re male.

Being overweight and/or not getting enough exercise also greatly increases your risk of developing varicose veins. Due to hormonal reasons, women have a higher varicose vein risk than men do. This risk increases after pregnancy and can worsen with every additional pregnancy. The risk is also increased if they use birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy.

These factors significantly increase your risk of developing varicose veins after the age of 60. However, they also increase that risk when you’re much younger. So no, even if you’re in your 30’s and 40’s, you’re not too young to have varicose veins.

Whatever your age, here’s how to find the best vein disease treatment in Tempe

So what do you DO about this? If you realize that because of heredity or lifestyle choices you’re at risk for developing varicose veins, what do you do about it?

The answer to this question is simple – give the vein experts at Comprehensive Integrated Care (CiC) a call at 888-377-7122 or go online to arrange a vein health screening with one of our vascular specialists like Dr. Karen Garby. Your first priority should be to find out exactly what your level of varicose vein risk actually IS.

If you know you have varicose veins, what steps should you take to find the best varicose vein treatment specialists near you? Again, we recommend that you give us a call at CiC, because our doctors are widely respected for providing the best vein disease treatment in the Valley. We specialize in minimally-invasive, non-surgical treatment procedures. These procedures not only remove the pain and discomfort of varicose veins, but remove the swollen veins themselves. These varicose vein removal treatments are so gentle that you can literally have your varicose veins removed on your lunch hour, and then walk out and return to work or home.

“So – however old you are – don’t feel bad about varicose veins,” says Dr. Garby.  And don’t feel that you have to “live with them.” You don’t. Modern varicose vein treatment options can eliminate varicose veins permanently, and at the same time eliminate the symptoms they often cause, such as leg pain and swelling. Give us a call or go online to schedule, and allow the best vein doctors in Phoenix to explain your treatment options to you. You’ll be glad you did!

The post I’m Too Young to Have Varicose Veins – How Do I Find the Best Varicose Vein Treatment Near Me? appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

If you are old enough to remember polio and smallpox, you might consider the elimination of those diseases important. Or you might consider organ transplants and modern heart surgery important.

In this article, vein specialists from the best vascular clinics in Tempe and Sun City will discuss two medical breakthroughs that have changed modern medicine drastically. However, they are less known by the general public. The breakthroughs we as vascular specialists have in mind are the tremendous improvements in the field of medical imaging and visualization. Specifically, the invention of minimally-invasive endovenous therapy, within the specialty of interventional radiology.

Modern medical imaging has made x-rays look old-fashioned

Don’t get us wrong…as doctors we know that the invention of x-rays in 1895 was a really big deal. It was a monumental breakthrough in the field of medicine. It was the first time that doctors could “look inside” the bodies of their patients without surgically opening them up. But x-rays, as important as they were to the progress of medicine, had some significant drawbacks. X-ray equipment itself is bulky and expensive and the radiation it produces can be dangerous if overused.

These drawbacks helped to make the invention of medical ultrasound and the field of diagnostic sonography the huge breakthroughs they have become. Ultrasound is a safe, inexpensive and portable technology used to “look inside” patients’ bodies to visualize and diagnose disease conditions. Instead of relying on x-ray radiation, an ultrasound device uses high-frequency sound. It beams these painless, harmless sound waves through the skin, and then records what happens to them as they bounce off of bones, organs, and tissue. A computer then analyzes these sound waves when they bounce back, “decoding” them to create a “map” of what is happening under the patient’s skin.

Since it was introduced, ultrasound has become a fundamental part of modern medicine. At CiC, our top Tempe and Sun City vein specialists use advanced Doppler ultrasound to not only see the structure of our patients’ veins, but the flow of blood within them. This enables us to detect blockages such as blood clots. It also allows us to easily and painlessly diagnose diseases such as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). CVI causes blood to flow back into the veins and pool there, leading to varicose veins.

The other breakthrough is interventional radiology – the science of minimally-invasive surgery

As doctors, we know that traditional invasive surgery is important. There are still many disease conditions that require it. But invasive surgery comes with risks. Large incisions can result in scarring, and recovering from them can require days or even weeks. Plus, the surgeries themselves must be performed in a hospital and under general anesthesia, which always involves some degree of risk.

The invention of portable ultrasound devices enabled surgeons to invent new ways of treating their patients’ disease without the need for invasive surgery. Instead of making large incisions, interventional radiologists insert small needles or catheters directly into a vein through a small puncture. Using ultrasound, they can then precisely guide the catheter into place inside the vein, to the exact location of a blockage or failure. Once it is in position, they can inject medicines to close a diseased varicose vein and eliminate it.

At CiC, we use these state-of-the-art techniques to provide vein disease treatment that can radically improve your life

Thanks to these two medical breakthroughs, modern vein disease treatment is fast and painless. Most of the procedures we perform can be completed in less than hour on an outpatient basis, in the comfort of our Tempe or Sun City vein clinics. CiC’s varicose vein treatment specialists can eliminate a patient’s swollen veins on their lunch hour. Our patients walk in with vein disease, and walk out without it. Now THAT is what we call a medical breakthrough!

If you would like us to explain more about these breakthrough medical procedures and what they can do for you, give us a call at 888-377-7122 or go online to set up a consultation and get the treatment process started. You’ll be glad you did.

The post The Best Vascular Clinic in Tempe and Sun City Explain Why Vein Disease Treatments Are Among the Decade’s Best Medical Breakthroughs appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

Many of our patients don’t realize this. The fact that they can walk into our CiC offices, have their varicose veins eliminated in minutes, and then walk out and return to work or home is something they take for granted. They assume that varicose vein treatment has always been this fast, effective, and painless.

But it hasn’t. In this article, the vascular experts at Comprehensive Integrated Care (CiC) explain what “treating varicose veins” used to be like. Then we’ll talk about what it is today. We think that when you understand how much vein treatment has improved in just a few years, you’ll better appreciate the care you receive at CiC.

What varicose vein removal was like a few decades ago

Most women (and men) who had varicose veins pretty much had to live with them. Conservative treatment such as wearing support stockings could help to minimize the symptoms, but couldn’t make the swollen veins go away. One of the only treatments that could remove varicose veins permanently was called “vein stripping.” And, yes, it was often as grueling as it sounds. A surgeon had to make incisions along the length of the diseased veins, and then literally scrape them out with a scalpel. Naturally, this had to be done in a hospital and under general anesthesia. As you can imagine, recovery from this procedure was long and painful. Also, the incisions often left scars that were as unattractive as the varicose veins had been.

Relax – modern varicose vein treatment at our CiC Tempe and Sun City locations isn’t anything like this

Among the advances in medicine that have been made since the age of “vein stripping,” two additional breakthroughs changed the nature of venous medicine forever. The first was the invention of ultrasound. Ultrasound gave doctors an inexpensive, portable technology to visualize diseased veins without breaking the skin to see them. This made possible a whole new way of diagnosing vein disease.

The second advance was the specialty of Interventional Radiology (IR). IR allows vascular doctors to treat varicose veins in a minimally-invasive manner. Instead of making incisions in the skin to expose the diseased veins, vein doctors can insert a tiny needle or catheter directly into the veins. They then guide it into place using ultrasound and use a number of techniques to seal the veins and close them permanently.

The advantages of this approach are obvious. Minimally-invasive procedures are so painless that in most cases only local anesthetics are needed. This means they can be performed in the comfort of your Tempe or Sun City vein clinics, with no need to go to a hospital. The procedures are so gentle that they require almost no “recovery time.” Most patients literally walk in, have their varicose veins treated in less than an hour, and walk out.

Modern varicose vein treatment options work better, too

Because there are no incisions, only a pin-prick, there is no scarring. Once the diseased veins are closed, they shrink, are absorbed into surrounding tissue, and disappear. Modern varicose vein removal is so effective that it has close to a 100% success rate.

Here are some of the treatment options we specialize in

At Comprehensive Integrated Care, vascular doctors like Dr. Karen Garby, Dr. Jeff Braxton, Dr James McEown and Dr Michael Makki are among Arizona’s most respected vascular specialists. They have years of experience performing a number of cutting-edge, IR-based varicose vein treatment options.

We’ll describe some of these procedures below, including links that will allow you to read more about them on our website if you want more information:

• Sclerotherapy. This technique is used to treat visible spider veins. With this procedure, we insert a very fine needle into the vein and inject a medication that causes the vein to close. The closed vein is then gradually absorbed by the body until all traces of the veins on the surface of the skin disappear. More than one session may be required.
• Radiofrequency Ablation. This procedure treats the underlying cause of bulging varicose veins. Using ultrasound, a catheter is inserted into the malfunctioning vein and radiofrequency energy is used to heat the vein, causing it to close. The blood is re-routed to normal, healthy veins and symptoms improve within days. 
• Endovenous Laser Ablation. Similar to radiofrequency ablation, a laser fiber is inserted into the malfunctioning vein. Laser energy is used to heat the vein, causing it to close. 
• Medical Adhesive (Like Super Glue). Finally, we are specialists in the use of the latest technique called Venaseal that uses a medical adhesive to close the malfunctioning vein. Benefits of this approach are that the glue sets within minutes, and there is no need for the heat associated with other types of treatment plus there is no need to wear compression stockings afterward.

If you want to learn more about these state-of-the-art varicose vein treatment options in Tempe or Sun City, give our specialists a call at 888-377-7122. Or go online on our CiC website to schedule an appointment. Our talented team of vein experts are happy to assist you.

The post Doctors from the Best Vascular Clinic in Tempe and Sun City Discuss the Variety of Modern Varicose Vein Treatments appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

As varicose vein specialists in Tempe and Sun City, we have to tell you that the short answer to this question is “Yes.” But the longer, more complete answer is more complicated. It is a mix of both good news and bad news:

• Good News. If your legs and ankles are free from varicose veins before you become pregnant, chances are good that they’ll remain that way. 60-70% of pregnant women give birth without them occurring.
• Bad News. On the other hand, varicose veins do occur during pregnancy in 30-40% of women. That’s a pretty large percentage.
• Good News. Most of the visible varicose veins that appear during pregnancy go away naturally, within three months of giving birth.
• Bad News. If you develop varicose veins during your first pregnancy, the odds are that you will also develop them again during later pregnancies or see them persist between pregnancies.
• Good News. If you do develop varicose veins, the vascular experts at Comprehensive Integrated Care (CiC) can guide you on how to treat them effectively, both during pregnancy (with conservative methods like compression hose and healthy eating) as well as afterwards. Modern varicose vein treatment with CiC is gentle, safe, and doesn’t even require you to go to a hospital.

Why are varicose veins more prevalent during pregnancy?

Blame nature. The volume of blood in your veins increases when you are pregnant. This puts additional pressure on the vein walls, causing them to weaken. At the same time, your body is flooded with hormones that cause the veins to expand and the weight of the baby puts direct pressure on the largest vein in the body, called the vena cava. This vena cava distributes blood to all the other veins in your body, so there can be a “domino effect” of increased internal pressure on smaller veins in the legs and ankles. All of these factors increase your likelihood of developing varicose veins.

Should I seek treatment if I develop varicose veins when pregnant?

If you experience negative symptoms associated with the varicose veins, it’s a good idea to consult with a varicose vein expert at one of our CiC locations in Tempe and Sun City. Such symptoms can include leg pain, muscle cramps, swollen achy legs, skin itchiness near the affected veins, or restless leg syndrome (feeling of creepy crawlies in the legs).

If you have varicose veins and experience symptoms like this, CiC vein specialists can tell you whether or not you need treatment with a Vein Health Screening. Varicose veins are rarely considered a medical danger. In many cases you can minimize any discomfort by watching your weight, exercising regularly, elevating your legs, and wearing compression stockings. If you’re pregnant and don’t have varicose veins, your CiC doctors can recommend things that can reduce your risk of getting them.

If you develop varicose veins and they don’t go away after you give birth, more good news is that you don’t have to wait until you are finished having children to consider vein removal. In fact, having them removed may be helpful in preventing a recurrence of vein disease during future pregnancies.

So whether you are pregnant or just considering it, give our experts a call at 888-377-7122 or go online if you have any additional questions. Our talented team of vein specialists at our Tempe and Sun City locations are happy to answer them.

The post Doctors from the Best Vein Clinics in Tempe and Sun City Discuss Varicose Veins in Pregnancy appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

Speaking as experienced Sun City vein doctors, we have to tell you that it’s not likely that your varicose veins will “get better on their own.” It’s much more likely they’ll get worse.

Varicose veins are the surface symptoms of a deeper, underlying vein disease. And that vein disease is progressive. That means if the disease is not treated, it has very predictable stages, as the disease progresses and the symptoms get worse. In this blog, we’ll discuss the progressive nature of vein disease. We’ll focus on the type that causes varicose veins, chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI.

What is chronic venous insufficiency?

CVI occurs when the tiny, one-way valves that control the flow of blood through your veins become damaged. In normal veins, these valves open to allow blood to flow through on its way to the heart, and then close again. When these valves become “leaky,” they allow blood to flow back into the veins and collect there. This is what causes these veins to become enlarged and take on the bluish-purple color of deoxygenated blood that you can see on the surface of the skin as spider veins and varicose veins. This is just the first stage of CVI, however.

The six most common stages of CVI (chronic venous insufficiency)

Although each case is slightly different, the following six sets of symptoms appear often enough and in enough patients that we can safely categorize them as reflecting predictable “stages” of the disease.

• Stage one – spider veins. These small, reddish-purple veins – visible on the legs, ankles, neck, face, and other areas – are not necessarily related to varicose veins, but they are caused by the same underlying CVI. They are more common in women than in men.
• Stage two – enlarged, ropy varicose veins. These swollen veins are in many cases “stage one” of the disease, because as noted they are not necessarily preceded by spider veins. This is the stage at which people often first become aware that they have a vein disease. The swollen veins may be accompanied by itching, burning, or numbness along the veins themselves, and by tired, weak, or achy legs. This is the best stage at which to treat them.
• Stage three – edema (swelling), but without skin changes. In this stage, swelling of the legs and ankles increases because CVI has impaired the circulatory system’s ability to reabsorb fluid. Elevation of the limbs may help, but will not cure the disease or reduce the swelling much.
• Stage four – skin changes and discoloration. As the disease progresses, venous congestion and poor circulation can lead to changes in skin color and texture. The skin on your legs can become reddish-brown or white in color, and take on a more leathery texture that leaves it brittle and prone to injury.
• Stage five – skin changes with healed ulceration. In this stage, scratches or injuries to the toughened skin may heal with treatment, often leaving scars.
• Stage six – skin changes with active ulceration. In this final stage of CVI, injuries to the skin and leg ulcers refuse to heal even with treatment, and can leave your legs literally covered with bleeding, open sores.

What can you do to prevent your varicose veins from getting worse?

Have them treated, and as early as possible. As noted above under stage two, this is the point at which varicose vein treatment in Sun City is easiest. In some cases, symptoms at this stage can be successfully managed with conservative treatments such as diet, exercise, and the use of compression stockings.

If you allow the disease to progress to higher stages, it can still be treated by varicose vein specialists in Sun City, but it may require more aggressive treatments such as sclerotherapy, radiofrequency ablation, laser therapy orVenaSeal™. To find out what stage your vein disease is in and which treatment options are applicable, give our experts a call at 888-377-7122 or go online to schedule an appointment. Our talented team of vein experts is happy to assist you.

The post Sun City Vein Doctors Explain the Stages of Vein Disease, and Why You Want To Seek Early Treatment appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.