5 Lifestyle Changes to Improve Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI)

Every one in three adults in the United States has varicose veins — those tortuous, twisted ropes of blue and purple blood vessels that mar your legs and sometimes appear in your pelvis, too. Each year, about one out of every 50 (mostly) women and (some) men with varicose veins go on to develop chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which can lead to serious complications.

You want to improve your symptoms and vascular health with lifestyle changes. Not only can you do so, but even if you do want to remove your defective veins first, these lifestyle changes can keep your rerouted circulation healthy. 

Board-certified neurologist Dr. Farhad Elyaderani and his team of vascular specialists in New Rochelle and Yonkers, New York, encourage lifestyle changes as a first-line treatment for CVI. The changes you’d make will benefit your health overall.

What can you do, here and now, in the comfort of your own home, to improve your CV? The following are five lifestyle changes that should help.

1. Exercise and move

The “use it or lose it” adage applies to vascular health, too. If you want your blood vessels to stay strong and healthy (or to recover their health), you must subject them to short periods of stress that demand they work hard.

Sitting down all day leads to lazy veins and slowed circulation. Instead, make sure you get up and move around throughout the day — even if you have a desk job. 

If you tend to get absorbed in a task, set a timer for every 30-60 minutes to interrupt your work. Get up, stretch, walk around. Your legs and your heart will thank you.

You must also engage in regular exercise that forces your heart to pump faster. This strengthens your heart, increases circulation, and improves the health of your blood vessels, too.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week. Or, you could choose 75 minutes of intense aerobic activity. Or, switch it up between the two.

The point is to elevate your heart rate through movement that forces your body out of its comfort zone, such as:

• Brisk walking
• Jogging
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Dancing

Add resistance exercise, such as weightlifting, to build more muscle and blood vessels. Aim for twice-weekly resistance sessions.

2. Change your menu

If you’ve opted for the convenience and high palatability of ultraprocessed or fast foods, it’s time to stop. Your body needs high-quality food ingredients to build a high-quality body, including high-quality blood vessels.

Ditch the junk, such as sugar and fried foods, and opt for fresh, whole foods filled with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Fall in love with new flavors and recipes that rely on:

• Fresh vegetables
• Low-glycemic fruits, such as berries
• Fiber-rich starches, such as sweet potatoes
• High-quality, pastured, and grass-fed meats, eggs, and poultry
• Wild-caught fish and seafood

You may also need to cut down on salt, which can contribute to leg swelling. Sodium — like sugar — can hide in a variety of processed foods, including tomato sauce, so read labels carefully.

3. Stop destroying your blood vessels

You know you should stop smoking. You know you shouldn’t drink alcohol to excess. But the reasons for quitting never seem as immediate or compelling as the comfort and pleasure of the habits.

Hear this: Smoking destroys your blood vessels, too. If the idea of cancer is too abstract, just look at the veins on your legs. Smoking helped make them. Both smoking and alcohol dehydrate your tissues, weakening and drying them out. If you need help quitting, let us know, and we’ll refer you to cessation programs.

4. Put your socks to work

Compression socks and stockings help your blood vessels work more efficiently by squeezing them, forcing the blood upward and toward your heart. They can make a real difference in your comfort, especially if you have to be on your feet all day.

Be sure to wear compression socks or stockings when traveling, especially during air travel. Sitting still for long periods increases the risk of developing blood clots. 

You can buy compression stockings over the counter.  However, we can also prescribe medical-grade stockings and socks, depending on your needs.

5. Lose excess weight

Although it’s fine to be comfortable with your body at any size, it’s not OK to accept an unhealthy amount of excess weight that threatens your vascular health and even your life. If you’re obese or extremely overweight, you need to shed those pounds to alleviate unhealthy chronic (as opposed to healthy short-term) stress on your veins.

We may be able to help with prescription medications that jumpstart your weight loss, but you shouldn’t rely on them alone. You must adopt lifestyle changes that improve your health over the long term. But you don’t have to do it alone: That’s what we’re here for.

Do you want to manage the discomfort and swelling of CVI through lifestyle changes alone, or are you ready to remove defective varicose veins and reroute your circulation? Call us today to improve your vascular health or request an appointment online.