Why do I need a Doppler scan?
Why do I need a Doppler ultrasound? Your doctor may suggest a Doppler ultrasound exam if you show signs of decreased blood flow in the arteries or veins of your legs, arms, or neck. A reduced amount of blood flow may be due to a blockage in the artery, a blood clot inside a blood vessel, or an injury to a blood vessel.
When should you use a Doppler?
A Doppler ultrasound may help diagnose many conditions, including:
- Blood clots.
- Poorly functioning valves in your leg veins, which can cause blood or other fluids to pool in your legs (venous insufficiency)
- Heart valve defects and congenital heart disease.
- A blocked artery (arterial occlusion)
What is a Doppler probe used for?
The Doppler probe is used on the surface of the heart/vessel to search for intramural coronary arteries or to locate the position and quantify the degree of a stenosis. Velocity measurement on the beating heart is challenging with muscle contraction causing movements detected by the Doppler.
How is a Doppler assessment carried out?
Place the Doppler probe on the pulse to be used and locate the clearest audible pulsatile sound again. Inflate the blood pressure cuff until the pulsatile sounds disappears. Slowly deflate the cuff and wait until the pulsatile sound reappears. Note this value down.
What does monophasic pulse mean?
Triphasic is the sound of a healthy artery (three distinct beats are heard), biphasic sounds (two beats) are often heard in the older person as a result of the normal physiological process of ageing, monophasic sounds (single beat, often muffled and dull) indicate that the vessel is diseased (Worboys, 2006; Figure 2).
What is a triphasic pulse?
The normal (“triphasic”) Doppler velocity waveform is made up of three components which correspond to different phases of arterial flow: rapid antegrade flow reaching a peak during systole, transient reversal of flow during early diastole, and slow antegrade flow during late diastole.
What is a normal ankle brachial index?
A normal resting ankle-brachial index is 1.0 to 1.4. This means that your blood pressure at your ankle is the same or greater than the pressure at your arm, and suggests that you do not have significant narrowing or blockage of blood flow.