New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS): Seven percent of India's youth suffer from varicose veins, a problem in which veins in the legs become widened, bulging and twisted, a study said.

The study also said women suffer from this disease four times more than men and the major reasons were a sedentary lifestyle including tight attire and high heels.

The reason why the problem was worrying was because if the varicose is not treated, it develops into non-healing ulcers, which happens near the ankles making it difficult to walk.

"Varicose ulcer can be found in both legs, which contain multiple valves that help the blood flow in the direction of the heart. When these valves are damaged, blood starts accumulating in the legs, which causes swelling, pain, fatigue, skin discolouration, itching and varicosities. And if not treated on time, it may develop a non-healing ulcer on the leg, which only happens near the ankle," said the study.

According to the study, a decade ago only 0.5 to 1 percent of youngsters used to suffer from varicose veins.

"Among women, due to some hormones, the walls of these veins become enlarged and dilated. Besides, during pregnancy because of a lot of pressure on leg veins, these become weak and varicosed," said Pradeep Muley, head interventional radiologist at Fortis Hospital.

"Till now, various treatment options available for varicose ulcer were elevating the legs while lying down or sitting, bending legs occasionally and sclerotherapy for short segment disease.

"Vein stripping surgery is a major surgery where the recurrence rate is too high, causes ugly scars on the legs and also has a long recovery time," added Muley.

The study said Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) was the latest and most effective form of treating this disease using multi-polar RFA machine.

"Under colour-doppler ultrasound vision, a radio frequency catheter is inserted into the abnormal vein and the vessel is treated with radio-energy, resulting in closure of the involved vein," said the study.

The interventional radiologist accesses the abnormal saphenous vein just above the ankle or below the knee through a small cannula in abnormal vein.

Unlike traditional surgical treatment, this procedure needs no general anaesthesia, no surgical scar on skin, no blood loss or risk of blood transfusion and makes for faster recovery as well.