Vascular tests are non-invasive tests that check the blood flow in your arteries and veins. These tests use high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to measure the amount of blood flow in your blood vessels. A small handheld probe (transducer) is pressed against your skin, and the sound waves move through your skin and other body tissues to the blood vessels. The sound waves echo off of the blood cells, and these echoes are then sent to a computer and seen on a screen as images or video. There are different types of vascular tests, and the tests that you have will depend on your symptoms and what your provider thinks your vascular problem may be. Some common types of vascular tests include:
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Pulse volume recording (PVR) study: This test is done to assess blood flow in your arms or legs. Blood pressure cuffs are inflated on your arm or leg, and the blood pressure there is measured.
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Vascular ultrasound: This is a painless, non-invasive test that uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of the blood vessels. Sound waves bounce off of the blood cells as they travel through the blood vessels, allowing physicians to calculate the speed of blood flow and identify narrowed arteries.
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Arterial & Vein Mapping: This test is performed to help determine which blood vessels are good candidates for use as grafts in lower extremity bypass graft or coronary artery bypass surgery.
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Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) with or without Stress for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD): This test compares the blood pressure in the arms and the ankles. If the blood pressure in the ankles is lower than the blood pressure in the arms, it may indicate PAD.
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Carotid Artery Ultrasound: This test uses sound waves to examine blood flow patterns in your blood vessels. The non-invasive test creates a color map of your blood vessels to identify the presence of atherosclerosis, blood clots, and carotid artery disease.
Vascular tests are used to diagnose a variety of conditions, including atherosclerosis, blood clots, carotid artery disease, chronic venous insufficiency, deep vein thrombosis, and extracranial carotid artery aneurysm.
