Color Doppler Services
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Color Doppler Services
A Doppler ultrasound is a test that uses high-frequency sound waves to measure the amount of blood flow through your arteries and veins, usually those that supply blood to your arms and legs.
Vascular flow studies, also known as blood flow studies, can detect abnormal flow within an artery or blood vessel. This can help to diagnose and treat a variety of conditions, including blood clots and poor circulation. A Doppler ultrasound can be used as part of a blood flow study.
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)
- Decreased blood circulation into your legs (peripheral artery disease)
- Bulging arteries (aneurysms)
- Narrowing of an artery, such as in your neck (carotid artery stenosis)
Why do you 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.
Your doctor may order a Doppler ultrasound exam if you show signs of:
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a condition that occurs when a blood clot forms in a vein deep inside your body (usually in the leg or hip regions)
- Superficial thrombophlebitis, an inflammation of the veins due to a blood clot in a vein just below the skin’s surface
- Arteriosclerosis, a narrowing, and hardening of the arteries that supply blood to the legs and feet
- Thromboangiitis obliterans, a rare disease in which the blood vessels of the hands and feet become inflamed and swollen
- Vascular tumors in your arms or legs
A Doppler ultrasound can help determine the blood pressure in your arteries. It can also show how much blood is currently flowing through your arteries and veins.