What Is A Vascular Ultrasound And When Is It Used?
If you've been advised to have a vascular ultrasound, you may be wondering what exactly will be involved and how it works. A vascular ultrasound is an imaging procedure that is used to diagnose a range of vascular conditions. It's a non-invasive procedure that's painless and can often be carried out in under an hour. There's no need to prepare for the ultrasound and no medication will be administered at any point during your ultrasound appointment. Read on to learn about how this type of ultrasound works and some of the common reasons it's carried out.
How Does A Vascular Ultrasound Work?
A vascular ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves that are transmitted to the area of your body being investigated using a transducer, which is a handheld device that feeds results back to a computer. The transducer is slowly moved along your skin and the sound waves react to the blood cells within the blood vessels that are being investigated. As the sound waves react and reflect off the blood cells, they send a reading to the connected computer that allows your doctor to establish the speed at which blood is moving through your blood vessels. The reading can also be used to create an image of the blood vessels being investigated, which can show where there are narrowed or blocked areas that are preventing blood flowing through at a normal rate. The results of a vascular ultrasound are instant, but you may have to wait for a follow-up clinic appointment to discuss the results in detail.
When Might A Vascular Ultrasound Be Performed?
A vascular ultrasound is typically performed when your doctor suspects the symptoms you have are indicative of an underlying vascular condition. It allows your doctor to assess the health of your blood vessels and can be used as a diagnostic tool on its own or with a range of other diagnostic methods, such as bloodwork and the evaluation of your health history. A vascular ultrasound can be used to detect blood clots, diagnose an aneurism and establish whether the walls of your blood vessels are weak or damaged. A few examples of vascular conditions that can be diagnosed with this type of imaging procedure include atherosclerosis, stroke, peripheral artery disease and chronic venous insufficiency.
Vascular ultrasounds are considered safe and effective, but you should have the opportunity to ask any questions you have about the procedure before the ultrasound is carried out. If you would like more information about vascular ultrasounds, contact your doctor.