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Article: Varicose Veins; Overview.(causes, treatment and diagnosis)
- Article from:
- NWHRC Health Center - Varicose Veins
- Article date:
- May 25, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 National Women's Health Resource Center. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Your body has two types of blood vessels: arteries carry oxygen- and nutrient-rich red blood from your heart to your muscles and organs, while veins are tasked with returning the "used" bluish blood back to your heart. The deep veins located beneath the muscles carry 90 percent of the blood traveling from your legs back to your chest. The other 10 percent flows through veins located closer to the surface, often visible, and less well supported.
While your leg muscles help your veins pump the blood upward, the real workhorse is an intricate system of one-way valves that prevent the blood from draining back down the leg under the force of gravity. In many people, ...