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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Prominent Vein In The Arm Upon Raising It?

My dads right arm only has a vein that bulges when he lifts it up and the blood flows back down and the vein disappears when the arm is lowered Just started in March Lots of test from MRI, Ct , blood work, xrays and doctors say it s normal.It don t hurt it is just getting my dad depressed because it s annoying. He is 76. Any suggestions?
posted on Thu, 2 Feb 2017
Twitter Mon, 17 Apr 2017 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 18 Apr 2017 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,

I have gone through the medical history of your dad and understood your concerns.

You say that he is getting depressed because his right arm only has a vein that bulges when he lifts it up and blood flows back down. When the arm is lowered, the vein disappears.
All these started in March and lots of tests resulted normal.

At the this point, there are few things you should explain to your dad regarding the anatomy of the blood vessels (veins in his case).
When the arm is lifting, the blood will flow back down and the vein is normally notable.
When the arm is lowered, the blood is not flowing back down, so no extra blood is added to the vein and it is not notable.

This phenomenon has been there for all your dad's life. My question is "why he noticed just now?".
Perhaps your dad has lost weight recently and was able to notice it.

Or perhaps, he might be suffering of aging depression that should be further evaluated by psychiatrist.

Anyway, the fact is that as long as all tests resulted normal, you should sit and explain your dad that this a normal phenomenon and normal anatomy of the blood vessels in the arms.

All the best.
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What Causes Prominent Vein In The Arm Upon Raising It?

Hi, I have gone through the medical history of your dad and understood your concerns. You say that he is getting depressed because his right arm only has a vein that bulges when he lifts it up and blood flows back down. When the arm is lowered, the vein disappears. All these started in March and lots of tests resulted normal. At the this point, there are few things you should explain to your dad regarding the anatomy of the blood vessels (veins in his case). When the arm is lifting, the blood will flow back down and the vein is normally notable. When the arm is lowered, the blood is not flowing back down, so no extra blood is added to the vein and it is not notable. This phenomenon has been there for all your dad s life. My question is why he noticed just now? . Perhaps your dad has lost weight recently and was able to notice it. Or perhaps, he might be suffering of aging depression that should be further evaluated by psychiatrist. Anyway, the fact is that as long as all tests resulted normal, you should sit and explain your dad that this a normal phenomenon and normal anatomy of the blood vessels in the arms. All the best.