What is Vascular Ultrasound?
Ultrasound is an imaging method using sound waves and their echoes to see inside the body without surgery. Ultrasound has many medical diagnostic uses, such as monitoring the health of the fetus during pregnancy.
Vascular ultrasound specializes in images of blood vessels and blood flow. It’s a non-invasive way to study arteries and veins in almost every part of the body. Ultrasound doesn’t use radiation or contrast dyes. Sound waves sent from an ultrasound transducer bounce off blood cells and return to the transducer. The sounds and their echoes are then converted by a computer into an image that reveals data about how blood is flowing in the patient. For example, a fast rate of blood flow may indicate the location of partial blockages due to atherosclerosis.
What are Some Uses For the Vascular Ultrasound Procedure?
Vascular ultrasound checks on many areas of the circulatory system, making it a valuable diagnostic tool for assessing cardiac health.
Among its applications are:
- Monitoring blood flow to organs and tissue in the body
- Detecting deep vein thrombosis, or blood clots, in the veins of the arms and legs
- Assessing patients for procedures such as angioplasty
- Locating blockages and abnormal conditions, such as stenosis, emboli, or plaque
- Locating aneurysms
- Doppler ultrasound expands the range of a standard vascular ultrasound, permitting better images of blockages, narrowed vessels, malformation of vessels, and blood flow irregularities.
What Can I Expect During a Vascular Ultrasound Session?
Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing and avoid wearing jewelry. The ultrasound transducer must contact the skin, so you may be asked to wear a gown to make treatment areas accessible. During the treatment itself, you’ll typically be lying on an examination table, face-up or on your side. A gel is applied to the skin so that the transducer has good contact with no air between it and your skin. Ultrasound exams are painless and have no side effects.
