Christopher Pittman: Millions Have Venous Disease and Do Not Know It
Christopher Pittman, Founder and Executive Chairman and Fellowship Program Director at Vein911 Vein Treatment Centers, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Millions have vein disease. And don’t know it.
Neither do their doctors.
That sounds extreme. But it’s true.
Venous disease is one of the most common medical problems in America — yet one of the least understood.
Most people know they need:
- eye care
- dental care
- heart care
But vein care?
Almost no one thinks about it.
Even though venous disease affects more than 75% of Americans during their lifetime. That’s more common than needing vision correction. Approaching the prevalence of dental disease.
And still… there are nowhere near enough vein specialists to meet the true need.
This is why symptoms get missed:
- heavy legs
- ankle swelling
- restless legs
- night cramps
- venous leg ulcers
These are often treated as separate problems.
But many times, they are connected by one overlooked cause: untreated venous disease
And the gap is massive. Venous disease is a leading cause of restless legs, night cramps, ankle swelling, and venous ulcers.
Yet most patients with these symptoms are never evaluated by someone who truly understands veins. Even excellent primary care physicians often receive very little training in venous and lymphatic disease.
So vein disease gets mislabeled as:
- ‘cosmetic’
- ‘aging’
- ‘poor circulation’
- ‘just swelling’
- ‘nothing serious’
Meanwhile, the condition progresses. This is not a patient problem. It’s a system-level diagnostic gap.
Millions of people are living with symptoms that are being labeled instead of explained, diagnosed, and treated. That needs to change.
Have you ever been told your leg symptoms were ‘just aging’ or ‘poor circulation’?
Were your veins ever actually evaluated?”

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