Free Vein Screening at Holzer Scheduled

Holzer offers free vein screenings several times a year at our locations. The next screening is scheduled for Tuesday, April 17 at our Gallipolis facility.

The screening is free for all individuals. The screening process includes a brief questionnaire about medications and medical conditions that could increase the risk of venous disease, simple ultrasound scan to measure critical vein function and identify vein blockages that contribute to venous congestion, and an examination for signs of chronic venous insufficiency, varicose veins and other conditions that could contribute to venous problems.

Screening participants receive a results sheet that they can share with their primary care provider. The whole process takes about 15-20 minutes. Those with abnormal findings are encouraged to contact their physicians directly, and will receive disease-appropriate educational materials.

Common symptoms of vein disease include:

• Leg pain, even at rest
• aching
• fatigue, heaviness in legs
• throbbing, burning, stabbing pain in legs
• cramps, swelling, itching of legs
• restless legs
• numbness

Chronic venous disease may cause varicose veins, spider veins, swelling, leg skin changes, leg ulcers, and phlebitis or inflammation of leg or arm veins caused by prolonged inactivity. Left untreated, it may lead to blood clots, skin color changes, and chronic ulcers of the legs. Venous Diseases are five times more common than arterial diseases.

Several factors increase the chance of venous disease, including:

• Family history (worse if both parents had it)
• Older age groups
• Gender, women are three times more likely to be diagnosed than men
• Pregnancy, high risk if individual has had several pregnancies
• Trauma
• Jobs that require standing for long periods of time or inactivity
• Obesity

Venous disease can affect all age groups and are common in more than 24 million Americans. Over six million Americans have advanced problems associated with chronic venous insufficiencies. Knowing your risk factors is important to preventing venous diseases.

Holzer Vein Center providers include: David Blevins, MD, FACS, General Surgery, Robert Bradley, DO, Cardiology, Ramesh Chandra, MD, Cardiology, Stephanie DeWitt, MD, General Surgery, and Lisa Johnson, FNP, Vein and Vascular Services. Holzer offers services that can improve venous diseases, such as: vein mapping, management of chronic venous insufficiency, compression therapy, management of deep vein thrombosis, and treatment of varicose veins and spider veins. To see if you can benefit from these services, call 740-446-VEIN (8346). Call today to make your appointment for the free screening!