What Causes Dilated Neck Veins?

Posted on Fri, 31 Jan 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 31 Jan 2014 Answered on

Mon, 3 Mar 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I had the Intestinal bypass in late 70's, and have had numerous effects but have been fairly healthy. However, my veins and blood vessels seem to have expanded i.e, for example, carotids in neck look as very large and scary especially when there is physical stress. When this is happening, my neck feels swollen and uncomfortable. Is this a side effect from surgery, and there any treatment ?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (50 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Hi and welcome to XXXXXXX Detailed Answer: Thanks for the query. his is not likely to be caused by this surgical procedure and I dont know the mechanism how could it be related to intestinal bypass. Dilated neck veins are most commonly sign of heart function disorder so this is the first thing to rule out. you should do heart ultrasound,ECG and neck ultrasound to verify is there any patology. In any kind of stress,your heart works more intensively and it leads to accumulation pf blood in neck veins especially if heart muscle doesnt contract good enough. Also,sometimes with aging, veins become varicose and it may be visible it here is thin skin or if you lost weight suddenly. This is wont cause any serious consequances,ot may be just cosmetic concern. But as I said,you should focus on your heart first. There are medicines which can improve heart function and it will lead to smaller veins and better circulation. Wish you good health. Feel free to ask. Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar