When Might My Doctor Recommend a Diagnostic Vascular Ultrasound?

When most people think of an ultrasound, their minds go to pregnancies. For nearly 70 years, ultrasound imaging has allowed doctors and pregnant women to see fetuses as they grow.

But ultrasounds have uses that extend well beyond obstetrics. Because this type of imaging test shows the structures inside your body, medical professionals can use it for a wide range of diagnostics. 

Take, for example, vascular ultrasound. This type of imaging allows doctors to evaluate your blood vessels and the way they function. 

If you need a diagnostic vascular ultrasound and you live in northern Kentucky or the Cincinnati, Ohio, area, visit our specialists at Vascular & Interventional Associates. We offer this imaging from the comfort and convenience of our office in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. 

When you should get a vascular ultrasound

Our team recommends this type of imaging when we need to get a better idea of how your veins and arteries are performing. The ultrasound lets us see how blood is moving through your blood vessels and to your organs. 

This allows us to:

• Locate blood clots and other blockages 
• Identify and assess varicose veins
• Evaluate an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter to prepare for its removal

We can also use a vascular ultrasound to diagnose specific conditions like:

• Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• Carotid artery disease
• Aneurysm
• Atherosclerosis

Depending on the symptoms you’ve been experiencing and what condition we think may be at play, we may also perform a Doppler ultrasound. This allows us to see how quickly blood moves through your blood vessels. 

What happens during a diagnostic vascular ultrasound

If our team recommends a diagnostic vascular ultrasound, you don’t need to worry. This is a completely noninvasive, pain-free type of imaging. 

The only thing you need to do to prepare for the ultrasound is dress comfortably. We recommend leaving jewelry at home because you may need to remove it depending on the body area we’re imaging with the ultrasound. 

During your appointment, you lie down and, ideally, relax. One of our ultrasound technicians applies a specialized gel to the area we want to image. This gel allows the ultrasound transducer to bounce sound waves through your skin into the blood vessels below. As the sound waves bounce back, they create the imaging we need.  

Our team reviews the resulting images. With that information, we diagnose your condition or suggest additional tests as needed. We schedule a follow-up appointment with you to go over our findings and talk through our recommendations for your next steps. 

If our team recommends a diagnostic vascular ultrasound, it’s because we need a way to see what’s happening with your blood vessels. To schedule this comfortable, noninvasive type of imaging with our team at Vascular & Interventional Associates, call our office or book your visit online today.