What is chronic venous insufficiency? Trump diagnosis puts the condition in the spotlight
What is chronic venous insufficiency?
Chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI, happens when veins in the legs can't properly carry blood back to the heart. That can lead to blood pooling in the lower legs. In addition to swelling, usually around the feet and ankles, symptoms can include legs that are achy, heavy feeling or tingly, and varicose veins. Severe cases could trigger leg sores known as ulcers.
What causes chronic venous insufficiency?
Overcoming gravity to pump blood from the feet all the way up to the heart is a challenge, especially when someone is standing or sitting for long periods. So legs veins are lined with one-way valves that keep blood from sliding backward on that journey. Anything that damages those valves can lead to chronic venous insufficiency. Risk factors can include blood clots, vein inflammation known as phlebitis or being overweight.
How is chronic venous insufficiency diagnosed and treated?
Doctors must rule out serious causes of leg swelling, such as heart problems, kidney disease or blood clots. Ultrasound exams of the leg veins can help confirm chronic venous insufficiency. According to the Cleveland Clinic, treatment can include wearing compression stockings, elevating the legs and achieving a healthy weight. Also exercise, especially walking, is recommended — because strong leg muscles can squeeze veins in a way that helps them pump blood. Medications and medical procedures are available for more advanced cases.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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CBS News
3 minutes ago
- CBS News
Extreme weight loss, cosmetic surgery videos available to kids on TikTok despite guidelines, CBS News finds
Hundreds of extreme weight loss and cosmetic surgery videos were easily found with a simple search on TikTok and available to a user under the age of 18, in violation of the platform's own policies, CBS News has found. CBS News created a TikTok account for a hypothetical 15-year-old female user in the United States and found that, at the very least, hundreds of extreme weight loss and cosmetic surgery videos were searchable and watchable on the platform using the account. Once the CBS News account interacted with a handful of these videos, similar content was then recommended to the account on TikTok's "For You" feed. Searchable videos ranged from content with captions such as, "nothing feels better than an empty stomach," to "what I eat in a day" videos promoting restrictive, 500-calorie-per-day diets. Guidelines published by the U.S. National Institutes of Health suggest that girls between the ages of 14 and 18 ingest between 1,800 and 2,400 calories per day. Many of the videos promoted thin body types as aspirational targets and included the hashtag "harsh motivation" to push extreme weight loss advice. Some of those videos included messages or slogans such as "skinny is a status symbol," and "every time you say no to food, you say yes to skinny." TikTok's own community guidelines say the platform only allows users over the age of 18 to see content promoting restrictive, low-calorie diets, including videos promoting medications for weight loss or idealizing certain body types. The Chinese-owned platform also says it bans users under the age of 18 from viewing videos that promote cosmetic surgery without warning of the risks, such as before-and-after images, videos of surgical procedures, and messages discussing elective cosmetic surgery. But CBS News found a range of videos by entering basic search terms on the platform, such as "skinny," "thin," and "low cal," that promoted thin bodies as ideal, while also pushing harmful weight management behaviors. One such video showed an image of a scale with a weight of 39.9 kg (88 pounds) alongside a caption saying "weight loss" and the hashtag "ed," which is a common abbreviation for "eating disorder." Another graphic video with the caption "ana gives you wings" showed a series of models with protruding collar bones and spines. The term 'ana' is an abbreviation for the eating disorder anorexia. Responding to CBS News' research, a TikTok spokesperson said Thursday that it was "based on a very limited sample size and does not reflect the experience of the vast majority of our community." "TikTok does not allow content that promotes disordered eating or extreme weight loss behaviours, and we work with health experts to provide in-app support resources where needed," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson pointed to a study published in May by the University of Southern California, which found that a majority of the eating disorder content on TikTok is discussion among users about recovery from such conditions. The same study noted, however, the platform's "dual role in both challenging harmful cultural norms and potentially perpetuating them," regarding body image perceptions and eating disorders. "We know that this isn't a one-off error on TikTok's part and that children are coming across this content on a scale," said Gareth Hill, a spokesperson for the Molly Russell foundation, a U.K. charity that works to prevent young people from committing self-harm. "The question for TikTok is, if this is not representative, then why has this account [created by CBS News], which is a child's account, been shown this content in the first place, and then why is it continuing to get recommended to it?" CBS News also found a wide variety of videos available to the under 18 user promoting the weight loss drug Ozempic and various forms of cosmetic surgery. That included videos that showed up on the recommended "For You" feed, which promotes cosmetic surgeries such as rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, and liposuctions. In one case, a user talking about their waist reduction surgery included a voiceover saying: "I would rather die hot than live ugly." A TikTok spokesperson declined to comment specifically on CBS News' findings regarding cosmetic surgeries being promoted to underage users. TikTok says it has taken a range of measures over the past several months to address criticism regarding the availability of extreme weight loss content on the platform. In early June, the platform suspended search results for the viral hashtag #SkinnyTok, after drawing criticism from health experts and European regulators. The hashtag had been associated primarily with videos promoting extreme weight loss, calorie restriction and negative body talk, often presented as wellness advice. A TikTok spokesperson also told CBS News on Thursday that searches for words or phrases such as #Anorexia would lead users to relevant assistance, including localized eating disorder helplines, where they can access further information and support. "I think we're understanding more and more about how this content shows up and so even when you ban a particular hashtag, for example, it's not long until something similar jumps up in its place," Doreen Marshall, who leads the American nonprofit National Eating Disorders Association [NEDA], told CBS News. "This is going to be an evolving landscape both for creating content guidelines, but also for the platforms themselves and, you know, while some progress has been made, there's clearly more that can be done," Marshall said. TikTok is not the only social media platform which has faced criticism for the accessibility of extreme weight loss content. In 2022, 60 Minutes reported on a leaked internal document from Meta that showed the company was aware through its own research of content on its Instagram platform promoting extreme weight loss and fueling eating disorders in young people. At the time, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, declined 60 Minutes' request for an interview, but its global head of safety Antigone Davis said, "we want teens to be safe online" and that Instagram doesn't "allow content promoting self-harm or eating disorders." Last year, 60 Minutes reported that the Google-owned YouTube video platform, which is hugely popular among teenagers, was also serving up extreme weight loss and eating disorder content to children. Responding to that report, a YouTube representative said the platform "continually works with mental health experts to refine [its] approach to content recommendations for teens." Available resources: National Eating Disorder Association If you or someone you know is struggling with body image or eating concerns, the NEDA toll free and confidential helpline is available by phone or text at 1-800-931-2237 or by click-to-chat message at For 24/7 crisis support, text "NEDA" to 741-741. F.E.A.S.T. is a nonprofit organization providing free support for caregivers with loved ones suffering from eating disorders.
CNN
3 minutes ago
- CNN
Luigi Mangione's attorneys say prosecutors wrongfully obtained his medical records
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'Then, rather than having Aetna give the documents to the Court, as required by the already fraudulent subpoena, the District Attorney told Aetna to provide the documents directly to the District Attorney, intentionally eliminating the Court from the subpoena process and ensuring that the District Attorney would secure these confidential medical records.' Mangione's defense also argues the information prosecutors obtained from Aetna isn't relevant to the state's criminal case. 'As defense counsel knows, the people requested very limited information from Aetna and Aetna sent us additional materials in error,' a spokesperson for the district attorney's office told CNN. 'We deleted the materials as soon as we became aware of them and brought it to defense and the court's attention.' The DA's office said it will respond further in a court filing. The defense has asked the court to hold an evidentiary hearing and for access to all communications between Aetna and the District Attorney's Office. 'Aetna received a subpoena for certain medical records, and we provided them appropriately,' an Aetna spokesperson told CNN. Mangione faces the death penalty in federal court where he's indicted for murder and other charges related to the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He has pleaded not guilty to all federal and state charges against him. The shooting in New York City and subsequent dayslong manhunt that ended in Pennsylvania captured national attention as investigators shared details of Mangione's alleged writings and the words 'delay,' 'deny' and 'depose' written on bullets found at the scene. Diary entries written by Mangione reveal the 27-year-old's detailed thinking before the killing, according to a previous court filing. In August 2024, roughly four months before he allegedly shot and killed Thompson in midtown Manhattan, Mangione wrote in his diary: 'I finally feel confident about what I will do. The details are coming together. And I don't feel any doubt about whether it's right/justified. I'm glad-in a way-that I've procrastinated bc it allowed me to learn more about (UnitedHealthcare).' 'The target is insurance. It checks every box,' he continued in the August 15 entry. Mangione allegedly gunned down Thompson on a busy sidewalk as Thompson walked toward a hotel hosting his company's investors' conference, authorities said. He was not insured by UnitedHealthcare from 2014 to 2024, prosecutors say, but at the time of his arrest, Mangione allegedly had a handwritten notebook that expressed 'hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular,' according to a federal complaint. 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Yahoo
30 minutes ago
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Michael Madsen cremated, more details about actor's death emerge
Actor Michael Madsen was cremated this week following his death earlier his month, about which more details are now emerging. A number of conditions, including cardiomyopathy — which makes it more difficult for the heart to pump blood throughout the body — along with coronary artery disease and chronic alcoholism all contributed to the cardiac arrest that ultimately killed the 67-year-old 'Kill Bill' star, according to a death certificate issued by Los Angeles County Medical Examiner and obtained by TMZ on Thursday. Thromboembolic disease, when vessels or arteries are blocked by blood clots, was also identified as a significant contributing factor. The death certificate shows that Madsen, who'd reportedly gotten sober in recent months, died less than two months after undergoing coronary angiography, which uses X-rays to look at the heart's blood vessels, per Mayo Clinic. Madsen's manager Ron Smith previously confirmed to NBCLA that Madsen died at his Malibu, California, home on July 3 from cardiac arrest. Days later, Madsen's cardiologist told the outlet that heart disease and alcoholism would be listed as contributing factors to his heart failure. Sister and fellow actor, Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen, remembered her big brother as 'half legend, half lullaby' — 'etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark.' Madsen is survived by four children, including his son Christian, who is also an actor. He was predeceased by one of his sons, Hudson, who died by suicide in 2022.
