Can I Inherit Varicose Veins?

You can credit your parents for a lot of things — the color of your eyes, how tall you are, what health conditions you’re more at risk for. And it's this last item that has brought you here. 

While varicose veins might not be the end of the world, medically speaking, you’re curious about where they come from and whether you can inherit them from your family tree. Given how prevalent varicose veins are — they affect up to 30% of the general population — it should come as no surprise that there are a lot of contributors to varicose veins, and genetics do play a role.

To shed some more light on the heritability of varicose veins, the team here at Upper East Side Vein Institute, under the direction of Dr. Satjit Bhusri, pulled together the following information.

Varicose veins — a direct genetic influence

Genetics influence you from head to toe and inside and out, and this includes varicose veins. In a technical sense, varicose veins are caused when one-way valves in your lower legs don’t close properly. When this happens, blood can pool in the superficial veins in your legs, and given enough pressure, they can engorge and rise to the surface.

One of the primary culprits behind this valve problem is chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which affects between 10% and 35% of adults in the United States. And some people are more prone to CVI thanks to genetics. If one or both of your parents have CVI, your odds increase for this condition, as well as for varicose veins.

You can also inherit general blood vessel characteristics that favor varicose veins. For example, if weak valves and weak walls in your blood vessels run in your family tree, the odds are good that you’ll have the same.

The indirect route to varicose veins 

Genetics can extend far beyond the condition of the blood vessels and valves in your legs. There are other, more indirect ways that genetics can influence whether you develop varicose veins. 

For example, obesity, which affects more than 42% of adults in the US, can be inherited, and obesity is associated with varicose veins.

Other causes of varicose veins

While heredity certainly plays a role, there are other factors that are equally, if not more, influential when it comes to varicose veins, such as:

• Gender — women are almost twice as likely to develop varicose veins due to hormones
• Pregnancy
• Aging
• Standing for long periods

Some of these factors, such as gender and aging, play more powerful roles in bringing on varicose veins. And these are all factors over which you have no control.

Where you do have control is in getting rid of any varicose veins that do develop. At our clinic, we offer a wide range of quick-and-easy varicose vein treatments that can clear your legs in no time.

So, no matter where your varicose veins came from, if you want them gone, simply call our New York City office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan at 212-752-3464. Or you can request an appointment online by clicking here.