Arteries carry blood from your heart to the rest
of your tissues. Veins return blood from the
rest of your body to your heart, so the blood
can be re-circulated. To return blood to your
heart, the veins in your legs must work against
gravity. Muscle contractions in your lower legs
act as pumps, while toned, elastic vein walls
help blood return to your heart. Tiny one-way
valves in your veins open as blood flows toward
your heart then close to stop blood from flowing
backward.
Varicose veins occur when the valves
in your veins malfunction. As you get older your
veins can lose elasticity, causing them to
stretch. When this happens, blood that should be
moving toward your heart may flow backward.
Blood pools in your veins, and your veins
enlarge and become varicose. The veins appear
blue because they contain deoxygenated blood,
which is in the process of being recirculated.
Some pregnant women develop varicose veins.
Pregnancy increases the volume of blood in your
body, but decreases the flow of blood from your
legs to your pelvis. This circulatory change is
designed to support the growing fetus, but it
can produce an unfortunate side effect —
enlarged veins in your legs. Varicose veins may
surface for the first time or may worsen during
late pregnancy, when your uterus exerts greater
pressure on the veins in your legs. Hemorrhoids
are varicose veins located in and around the
anus.
