THEvenous insufficiency is one of the most common chronic conditions in developed countries.

It is characterized by poor circulation of blood in the veins, causing heavy legs, swelling (especially in the ankles), pain, varicose veins, cramps or itching … In severe cases, the disease can be responsible for persistent ulcers on the legs. legs.

Varicose veins, those swollen and painful veins with a tortuous path, are the most typical and frequent symptom of venous insufficiency. Their prevalence would reach 20 to 30% in Western countries.

If it is known to be high, the exact prevalence of venous insufficiency is difficult to estimate. According to studies, it varies from 2 to 56% in men and from 1 to 60% in women! Such a margin is explained by the different age groups included in the studies, but also by a variability of the definition and the diagnostic means.

Doctors generally distinguish two types of venous disease associated with chronic venous insufficiency:

• disease post-thrombotique (these are the after-effects of a deep vein thrombosis, that is to say the obstruction of a deep vein by a clot);
• disease so-called essential varicose vein, which is linked to a weakness of the venous wall, the origin of which is not well known.