In line with its mission, the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony makes every effort to provide reliable medical content supported by the latest scientific knowledge. The additional flag “Checked Content” indicates that the article has been reviewed by or written directly by a physician. This two-step verification: a medical journalist and a doctor allows us to provide the highest quality content in line with current medical knowledge.
Our commitment in this area has been appreciated, among others, by by the Association of Journalists for Health, which awarded the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony with the honorary title of the Great Educator.
Doppler ultrasound is a test carried out with the use of an ultrasound machine using the so-called the Doppler effect. This examination allows you to accurately assess the condition of blood vessels, especially arteries and veins. Doppler ultrasound is performed mainly in patients with atherosclerotic lesions and embolic diseases and when aneurysms are suspected. This way, you can prevent serious complications such as stroke, pulmonary embolism or heart attack.
Doppler ultrasound is a non-invasive examination consisting in observing the blood flow in a given organ with the help of an ultrasound machine that additionally uses Doppler effect. This effect causes the ultrasound wave sent by the ultrasound head to penetrate the body, and then bounce off the moving blood and return to the head. An ultrasound machine connected to it records changes in the frequency of the sound wave reflected from the blood. These changes are then shown as an image on the monitor.
The doctor who performs a Doppler scan can see where the blood flow is slower, where the blood is receding (this may be due to regurgitation of the venous valves) and where the flow is blocked. There is no need to prepare yourself for the Doppler ultrasound examination. Only for execution Doppler ultrasound of the liver and renal arteries you should come on an empty stomach.
Depending on the purpose of the examination, the doctor may order a Doppler examination by one of several techniques:
- Continuous wave Doppler ultrasound – this test allows you to quickly determine the changes that occur in the blood flow rate. However, it is not known at what depth the signal is detected. The continuous wave method is useful mainly in the analysis of blood flow through the valves or in determining the fetal heart rate. The data is shown in a graph, and from it you can calculate the speed and direction of the tide. This Doppler ultrasound technique works well for fast flows because there are no velocity-related measurement constraints.
- Doppler ultrasound with the use of pulsed wave – in this case high velocity blood flows cannot be determined. The advantage of this method of ultrasonography is the ability to accurately determine the depth at which the vessel is located.
- Doppler Duplex ultrasound – it is a method of double imaging that combines ultrasound with the Doppler phenomenon and allows you to observe not only vessels, but also adjacent tissues.
- color Doppler ultrasound – the advantage of this method is color imaging of blood flow through the vessels. On this basis, the direction and speed of blood flow can be determined.
The main indications for Doppler ultrasound are atherosclerosis and venous thrombosis. This test allows the timely detection of pathological changes in the blood vessels such as arterial obstruction, venous congestion and aneurysms. Doppler ultrasound is also performed when any other pathological changes are suspected, resulting in abnormal blood flow in the veins and arteries.
Doppler ultrasound allows you to examine the blood flow and possible changes in the carotid arteries, subclavian arteries, the heart (for this reason, Doppler ultrasound is often performed in conjunction with the echo of the heart), in the abdominal cavity and in the genital area. The Doppler method is of great importance in the diagnosis of circulatory abnormalities in the lower and upper limbs.
The indication for Doppler ultrasound is to be performed there are also changes of a neoplastic nature. During a Doppler ultrasound scan, blood flow in the lymph nodes can be closely traced. This test also allows you to assess the type of liver tumors and determine the degree of their malignancy.
- Read also about ultrasound of the abdominal cavity and ultrasound of soft tissues.
Doppler ultrasound is non-invasive, painless and completely safe. There are no long-term absolute contraindications for it. However, the reason for postponing the examination to another date may be skin damage in the examined area, including burns, open wounds or fractures. Breakage of the epidermis carries the risk of infection, and other injuries can cause soreness in the area that is in contact with the transducer used during ultrasound.
Doppler ultrasound requires referral from a specialist. To begin with, the patient must uncover the area to be examined (remove or move clothes away). During the examination, you lie down on a couch and the doctor puts the head on the examined area Doppler apparatus, having previously smeared the patient’s skin with a special gel. The blood flow image is visible on the monitor on an ongoing basis, so the doctor can immediately assess the condition of the blood vessels. You notice places where blood flow is abnormal or stops.
During the Doppler ultrasound, a characteristic sound of blood flow is heard; changes in audible noise are also an indication to the physician that pathological changes have occurred in a given location.
Duration of the Doppler examination it’s about 15-30 minutes. If we go to them privately, the price may vary from 120 to 300 PLN depending on the area studied.
Diagnosis based on Doppler ultrasound
Doppler ultrasound result it is obtained in the form of a chart described by the doctor or a color drawing immediately after the examination. On the basis of Doppler ultrasound, the patient may be referred for surgery, the doctor may also decide to implement pharmacological therapy. Doppler ultrasound allows you to accurately determine blood flow through the vessels and measure the cross-section of arteries and veins. This allows the venous capacity to be assessed.
Thanks to the Doppler ultrasound analysis, narrowing of the arteries caused by atherosclerosis and lesions in an organ or part of the body caused by abnormal blood flow are detected. However, this test cannot detect atherosclerotic lesions in the vessels and arteries that supply blood to the brain, because the bones in the skull prevent ultrasound from propagating. Magnetic resonance imaging is used if any abnormalities in the blood vessels in the brain are suspected
- Read also about computed tomography of blood vessels (angio-CT)
On the basis of Doppler ultrasound, thyroid nodules can also be detected, which are then biopsied. Doppler ultrasound is also a very useful test that allows to diagnose valvular heart disease (an echo of the heart is additionally carried out then). It also helps detect damage, ischemia, or inflammation in the liver, spleen, pancreas and kidneys. It is invaluable in detecting varicocele in men, ailments that may cause infertility, diagnosing the causes of poor blood supply to the feet and assessing blood flow in the lymph nodes.