Ultrasound vessels – a type of ultrasound examination that studies the condition of arteries and veins. The Doppler effect is the basis of the method of ultrasound dopplerography of vessels: a wave travels from the sensor in the direction of the vessels, which, when passing through the walls of an artery or vein, changes its frequency characteristics and length, is reflected and returns to the sensor. The transformations that occur are recorded by the apparatus, while a picture of the blood flow is formed based on the speed and direction of the flow.
Dopplerography of the vessels of the head and neck (carotid and vertebral arteries), kidneys, upper and lower limbs, abdominal cavity, and brain is usually performed, which allows detecting many vascular pathologies. Ultrasound of vessels – simple, non-invasive, harmless and highly informative examination method.
Ultrasound scanning of the lower extremities is performed to study blood flow and detect venous thrombosis. A special gel is applied to the patient's leg, which improves the contact of the sensor with the skin. The patient may feel light or moderate pressure on the limb in those places where the veins pass. The examination usually takes about half an hour, and if it is necessary to assess the speed of blood flow – a little over an hour.
Color flow Doppler shows blood flow as blue or red areas of spread.
Dopplerography of the vessels of the lower extremities is prescribed for suspicion of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the presence of tenderness and thickening along the course of the vein, the presence of varicose veins and nodes of the lower extremities, the patient's complaints of pain in the legs when walking and at rest, swelling of the calves, ankle joints , change in skin color. A blood clot in a superficial vein is usually not that dangerous. With deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot can break off and cause PE (thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery) – a very serious and life-threatening complication.
Dopplerography is also used to assess the arterial blood flow in the lower extremities and to determine areas of narrowing (stenosis) in people with peripheral vascular disease.
With ultrasound, vessels are examined in a two-dimensional plane, which allows you to obtain information about their structure and structure, as well as partially determine the speed and quality of blood flow. A more complete picture of blood circulation can be seen with dopplerography in the duplex mode of paired vessels.
Transcranial dopplerography of brain vessels – a form of examination in which pulses of ultrasound are directed to vascular formations at the base of the skull, which allows measuring the speed of blood flow in the large basal intracranial arteries in real time. This non-invasive imaging method of intracranial circulation is particularly valuable for critically ill hospitalized patients, as well as for assessing collateral circulation in outpatients.
Dopplerography of cerebral vessels allows for monitoring during neurosurgical interventions and helps to detect abnormal narrowing of arteries or dangerous arterial spasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage. This method is also used to study mood disorders and identify abnormalities in the limbic system in severe depression.
Pain during urination, pronounced swelling of the face/eyelids, persistent hypertension, pain in the lumbar region – indications for kidney ultrasound. But this examination alone is not always enough, vascular ultrasound may be needed .
For suspicions of developmental anomalies, kidney failure, expansion of the vascular wall, and a diagnosis of a kidney tumor (to study its blood supply), ultrasound is prescribed, so the question arises, where to do a dopplerography of the kidney vessels. The answer is simple – in a medical center equipped with modern ultrasound machines with dopplerometry function.
Do not be afraid of conducting ultrasound of blood vessels. Examination makes it possible to detect the disease at an early stage and carry out treatment in a timely manner.
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