Vein Trivia

This elegant animal was studied extensively during the process of developing g-suits for military pilots and astronauts. Despite such a tall stature which gives rise to tremendous venous pressures in their leg veins, Giraffes never suffer from varicose vein disease. The Giraffe is the tallest (17-20 ft.) of all land-living animal species with an average mass of 2,630 lb. (up to 4,300 lb.) and appeared during the Pleistocene era over 1 million years ago. When pursued a giraffe can run up to 55 km/hr. The blood vessels in the lower legs are under great pressure exerted from the weight of the blood induced by gravity not to mention the pressure generated by the pumping of a 22 lb. heart. In other animals and in humans this high pressure would force blood out through the capillary walls; giraffes however, have a very tight sheath of thick skin over their lower limbs that maintains a high pressure outside of the blood vessels which prevents this from happening. In other words giraffes have built in compression hose as standard equipment from birth. No varicose veins ever, no swelling, no leg ulcers, no hyper-pigmentation and of course never a need for our services.