Every day, 145 women are hospitalized to treat varicose veins

Data from the Brazilian Society of Angiology and Vascular Surgery show that 145 women are hospitalized every day in Brazil for the treatment of varicose veins. The calculation is that, every hour, on average, six women undergo surgeries to deal with the problem only in the public network. Despite the high numbers, the organization warns that many cases dammed up during the covid-19 pandemic may still not have been treated. The survey, based on information available in the Ministry of Health database, shows that varicose veins are much more common in women. In the historical series analyzed, between 2013 and 2022, 76% of the 695 thousand cases registered were female, totaling 529 thousand women submitted to treatment in the last ten years. The entity responsible for the study points out that it is not just a matter of aesthetics and that, without proper care, varicose veins imply loss of quality of life, causing pain and discomfort. The problem compromises the routine of thousands of Brazilians and can evolve into serious situations that are difficult to reverse. Pandemic With 45,800 women hospitalized for varicose veins in 2022, the Unified Health System (SUS) database recorded an increase of 103.4% compared to the previous year, when 22,500 women were hospitalized for the problem in the network public. The number is still 26% less than the average number of procedures reported in previous years. The survey shows that, between 2013 and 2019, part of the historical series that was not impacted by covid-19, on average, 62 thousand women were hospitalized each year for treatment of the disease. The data also reveal that 2020 and 2021 were the years with the highest percentage of emergency admissions, compared to the total number of records. During this period, 17% of admissions were not elective. In all other years of the historical series, this mark remained below 14%. “The scenario suggests that many patients did not have clinical and outpatient support, having to resort to emergency care in emergency rooms due to the severity of the signs and symptoms”, concluded the entity.

Agência Brasil