The risk of suffering from venous disease is 50 to 90% higher when one or both parents are affected.
- Heredity is the main risk factor in venous disease
- When parents suffer from varicose veins, signs of venous disease can appear as early as 20 years old
- The hormonal manifestations of pregnancy favor the appearance of varicose veins or make them worse
If you have varicose veins or other disorders related to venous disease, chances are it was a poisonous gift left by your ancestors! “When you have a relative who has varicose veins, you have a 50% risk of having them; and when both parents have it, the risk is 90%”confirms Christelle Bougard, vascular doctor and phlebologist.
Some even affirm that it is this importance of heredity which is responsible for a higher frequency in France of venous disease… is the fault of Napoleon 1er : the emperor would have prevented the integration into his Great Army of all the men suffering from this pathology who risked becoming incapable of fighting and constituting too heavy a burden during marches in the military health services. As a result, those with varicose veins survived the war campaigns, while many healthy men died in battle. From where a generation of venous patients which reproduced more… by transmitting this pathology to many of its descendants!
Early onset of disease
However, this predisposing factor mainly results in a very early onset of the disease. “When there is a family heredity, venous insufficiency can appear young, some patients have small varicose veins from the age of 20”explains Christelle Bougard.
On the other hand, this family history has the “advantage” of sensitizing those who are concerned to the early management of the signs that can announce the venous disease. “People come to consult because they are embarrassed, or when they have a family history of complicationssays Dr. Bougard. Otherwise, a majority of consultations for venous insufficiency concern people in their forties..”
What motivates patients to come to the doctor for symptoms that are often considered minor ailments? “From the moment there are feelings of heaviness, pain, but also of course aesthetic discomfort”, answers Christelle Bougard. This recourse to the doctor is sometimes very late since studies have shown that the management of the venous disease intervenes on average 7 years after the appearance of the first symptoms.
The main predisposing factors
“At first, there are simply varicosities, there may be some seasonal symptoms, accentuated during the summer, but over the years, the disease sets in and we see the appearance of varicose veins which can be serious if they evolve towards skin disorders or complications such as phlebitis”regrets the doctor who recalls the main predisposing factors, beyond the hereditary factor: overweight, physical inactivity and occupations which require prolonged standing, and pregnancies which can promote the occurrence of varicose veins or aggravate them on a ground predisposed.
“When signs of venous diseases exist or appear, a restraint must be worn from the start of pregnancy because it is not so much the weight of the baby as the hormonal flood that favors the occurrence of varicose veins; it is also because of this hormonal influence that more women than men are affected”explains Dr. Christelle Bougard on this point.
Below, our report at Christelle Bougard:
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