Venous hypertension is high blood pressure inside the veins in the legs. It can impair the body’s ability to carry oxygen to the lower body and cause problems such as swelling and ulcers.

Venous hypertension often develops due to problems with the valves inside the veins, which leads to the backflow and pooling of blood. It can also occur as a complication of pregnancy and some rare genetic disorders.

The veins in your lower body contain one-way valves that help prevent the backflow of blood. An impaired ability to return blood from your veins to the heart is called venous insufficiency. The first manifestation of venous insufficiency is venous hypertension.

Read on to learn more about venous hypertension, including its causes, symptoms, and treatment options. This article also compares venous hypertension with venous insufficiency.

Venous hypertension is most commonly associated with venous reflux, which is the backflow of blood through the valves in your veins.

Risk factors for chronic venous insufficiency include:

Venous hypertension can also occur due to some genetic disorders, such as Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, which often causes severe venous hypertension.

Venous insufficiency and venous hypertension affect about 40% of pregnancies.

People who develop venous insufficiency develop signs and symptoms related to poor circulation in their lower body. These can include:

  • painful and throbbing legs
  • varicose veins
  • leg swelling due to fluid buildup
  • darker areas of skin
  • varicose eczema, or patches of dry, flaky, and swollen skin on your leg
  • skin ulcers on your legs
  • slow wound healing

Potential complications of venous insufficiency and venous hypertension include:

It’s important to contact a doctor whenever you develop symptoms of poor circulation, such as swelling in your legs or discolored patches on your skin.

A doctor can help you determine if an underlying health condition is contributing to your symptoms and if you might benefit from either medical treatment or changes to your lifestyle habits.

Medical emergency

Go to the nearest emergency room if you develop any symptoms of a pulmonary embolism, such as:

  • swelling on one side of your foot, ankle, or leg
  • cramping leg pain, usually in your calf
  • unexplained and severe foot or ankle pain
  • a warm patch of skin on your leg or foot
  • changes to your skin color, such as your skin turning pale, red, or bluish

A doctor will start your diagnosis by reviewing your medical history and asking you about your symptoms. They’ll likely perform a physical exam, where they’ll examine your legs for characteristic symptoms like ulcers or swelling.

Doctors can use a type of imaging test called a Doppler ultrasound to measure how well blood is moving through your veins and detect valves in your blood vessels that aren’t working properly.

If your doctor finds that you do have signs of venous hypertension or venous insufficiency, they may run other tests to look for potential underlying health conditions.

A doctor may recommend the following treatments for venous hypertension and insufficiency:

  • compression socks or stockings to help improve your circulation
  • lifestyle changes, such as:
    • losing weight if necessary
    • dietary changes
    • getting enough physical activity or exercise
  • endovenous thermal ablation to close veins using heat from a laser
  • sclerotherapy to shrink your veins by injecting a solution called sclerosant
  • ligation and stripping, which involves removing affected veins
  • valve reconstruction to fix valves that aren’t working properly

You might be able to prevent venous hypertension to some degree by taking steps to protect your vascular health.

Lifestyle changes you can make that might help you prevent venous hypertension include:

  • avoiding smoking and tobacco use
  • breaking up extended periods of sitting with movement breaks
  • getting enough regular exercise or physical activity
  • maintaining a moderate weight

You may also wish to consider speaking with a registered dietitian for information on dietary changes that may help.

Venous hypertension refers to high blood pressure in the veins of the legs. It’s a complication of a related condition called venous insufficiency.

Venous insufficiency is when the veins have trouble carrying blood back to the heart. It can lead to the pooling of blood in the legs, which increases the blood pressure in the veins.

Without treatment, venous hypertension and venous insufficiency tend to be progressive. Ulcers are common and difficult to treat. Many people develop a serious condition called deep vein thrombosis, which can progress to a life threatening condition called pulmonary embolism.

Venous hypertension may be reversible if you treat the underlying cause. Damage to the valves in your veins may be permanent without surgery.

Venous hypertension is when the blood pressure in the veins in the lower body rises.

Symptoms of venous hypertension can range from mild to severe. The condition can cause leg pain, swelling, varicose veins, and other symptoms.

In severe cases, you may need surgery to repair or replace damaged valves in your lower body. Speak with a doctor as soon as there are concerns about the symptoms of venous hypertension.