If your legs feel tired, achy or heavy, several conditions could be to blame. In today’s post, we review the vascular conditions that can cause you to experience leg heaviness. Then, we highlight possible treatment options to help you find relief.

Understanding Heavy Leg Causes

At Georgia Endovascular, we see many patients with heavy legs that result from chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). This condition develops when the valves in your veins sustain damage, allowing blow to flow backward and pool in your leg veins and the surrounding tissue. When that happens, the veins can stretch and bulge, resulting in varicose veins.  That extra pooling blood is a lot for your legs to carry, explaining why they may feel tired and heavy with this condition.

While leg heaviness could be a symptom of vein disease, it could also indicate an arterial concern. For some people, this issue is actually a sign of Peripheral artery disease (PAD), a condition that develops when plaque builds up along the arterial walls, causing narrowing that restricts blood flow, particularly to your legs. With less oxygenated blood reaching your legs, movement is not sufficiently supported. As a result, your legs may feel tired and heavy, and you may experience claudication. (Cramps that come on with movement and resolve with rest.)

How Do I Fix My Heavy Legs?

The first step to relieving leg heaviness is to accurately diagnose the cause of this symptom. In addition to vascular concerns, heavy legs could also be caused by strenuous workouts, pregnancy and/or obesity, or even dehydration. But if PAD or CVI is causing your leg heaviness, our team of interventional radiologists is here to help.

At our three locations in and around Atlanta, we treat vein and arterial disease with minimally invasive procedures that relieve your symptoms without the need for invasive incisions or overnight hospital stays. So, if you’re ready to resolve your leg heaviness but want to avoid surgery, we invite you to request a consultation so we can begin exploring your best treatment options.