Ultrasound for Peripheral Artery Disease Diagnosis

Peripheral Artery Disease is a condition that occurs when the arteries outside the brain and heart have plaque buildup and become obstructed or narrowed. It happens in the lower extremities where there is blockage of the vessels from the heart to the legs. The primary cause of plaque is fatty build-up known as atherosclerosis. The condition can happen in any blood vessel but is usually in the legs. If the PAD progresses undetected, it results in pain because the muscles stay deprived of oxygen. In severe cases, one can experience pain even when resting.

Additionally, foot or leg wounds do not heal fast, leading to amputation. Either way, the condition can affect a patient’s mortality, morbidity, and quality of life. Looking for Peripheral Artery Disease treatment depends on a reliable diagnosis, evaluation, and severity of the disease. It will also help in the treatment and monitoring of the progression of the condition. We have our doctor to evaluate and manage care for patients with arterial disease.  PAD tests are risk-free, painless, and simple to do. After taking the tests, the podiatrist can make a diagnosis and recommend the best course of action.

You might experience pain in the legs, but they get better when you rest. Some people do not experience leg pain. Other Peripheral artery disease symptoms include pain or cramps that can happen in the calf, buttock, thigh, or hip. You might have physical signs that include muscle weakness, hair loss, and shiny skin that might be accompanied by pain. One might experience decreased pulses, sores that do not heal, and numb toes.

PAD Diagnosis

The doctor recommends noninvasive tests, such as ultrasound imaging that will measure the blood pressure in the ankles. The basic principles of ultrasound for peripheral Artery Disease are

• Ultrasonography uses high-frequency sound waves on the tissues. The speed of the sound through the tissues is estimated depending on the depth and time elapsed between the pulse and reflection. The brightness depicted depends on the reflected wave intensity.
• Brightness mode or B-mode is a grayscale ultrasound. In this ultrasound, anatomical localization is used and the vessel size and characterization of plaque. Abnormalities are identified as high-quality images that arise from the perpendicular to the vessel of interest.
• Doppler ultrasound known as pulse-wave or spectral uses the doppler effect to estimate the speed of the blood flow. A sound wave is shifted when it encounters a moving reflector and when the reflector moves away the speed decreases. The change in frequency is maximum when the ultrasound beam is directed against the axis of blood flow. A doppler angle of 60 degrees is ideal and the reflection of the sound waves is less likely to be recorded. The spectral analysis is the graphical display of the recorded speed against the elapsed time.
• In duplex mode, two ultrasound modes are used concurrently; the B-mode and doppler respectively. Duplex US is used to image the characteristic of the blood vessels and the direction. In central continuous blood flow is seen in the veins while peripheral allows the pulsatile flow is seen. The vascular beds are classified as high or low resistance systems. The waveforms brisk systolic upstroke and a brief period of flow.

Please feel free to call our office in Houston, TX, if you have any questions about PAD. For all of your foot care needs, we offer the most up-to-date diagnostic and treatment technology.