

Cardiovascular Health Study Collaborative Research Group. Carotid-artery intima and media thickness as a risk factor for myocardial infarction and stroke in older adults. O’Leary DH, Polak JF, Kronmal RA, et al.Appointment times are available Mon – Fri from 7:00 – 5:30.

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However, in keeping with our commitment to prevention, Northwest Vascular Diagnostics is pleased to be offering these screening exams to our community for a small fee of $50 per screening exam or $129 for all three. Unfortunately, screening exams are not reimbursable through Medicare or most other insurance providers. Results of your exam will be available immediately. During the exam, the technologist will wrap blood pressure cuffs around your arms and ankles and take blood pressures using a hand-held Doppler device. This is a procedure that compares the blood pressure in the arms to the blood pressure at the ankles to determine if the legs are receiving adequate blood flow. If this atherosclerosis is building in the coronary arteries of the heart or the carotid arteries that feed the brain, this can lead to a heart attack or stroke.Ī PAD screening exam will include an ankle-brachial index (ABI). Even more cause for alarm is the fact that PAD is an indicator of systemic atherosclerotic disease that is building in other arteries in the body as well. If left untreated, this lack of blood flow can cause ischemic ulcers, gangrene, and can ultimately end in the affected leg being amputated. The remaining 50% of patients with PAD complain of a variety of leg symptoms different from the classic signs of claudication. Only about 10% of patients with PAD experience the classic symptoms of intermittent claudication, while 40% of patients complain of no symptoms at all. The most common symptoms of PAD include pain in the leg(s) that increases with walking (intermittent claudication) and/or constant pain in the leg(s) that is relieved by dangling the foot (rest pain). These blockages are caused by atheroslcerosis (plaque) attached to the arterial walls. Blockages in the arteries that feed the legs cause pain due to insufficient blood flow. PAD is a disease that affects the peripheral arteries, most commonly in the legs. Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) affects about 8 million Americans. Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Screening The vascular screening exam will include an ultrasound of your abdomen to evaluate the size of the abdominal aorta. It is for this reason that AAA screenings are such an important part of prevention. This means that AAA’s have a 75-90% fatality rate. Generally, AAA’s are silent until they rupture, in which case only 10-25% of patients survive to be discharged at the hospital following repair. AAA’s are often referred to as the “silent killer” because the vast majority of people who have an aneurysm have no symptoms. An aneurysm is a weakening of the arterial wall, causing it to expand. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) ScreeningĪbout 15,000 Americans die each year due to an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA). The screening exam will include an ultrasound of the carotid arteries in your neck to evaluate for plaque build-up and intima-media thickness.
#Cardiac study center gig harbor software
Using state-of-the-art edge detection software with ECG gating, we are able to determine a patient’s IMT measurement, compare it to those of a similar age, sex, and ethnicity, and determine whether a patient is at low-risk, average, or increased risk of cardiovascular disease. If caught early, changes in lifestyle and medication can decrease this risk by decreasing the thickness of the artery. Recent studies have suggested that the thickness of the carotid arteries can give insight to a patient’s risk of cardiovascular disease. One way to prevent a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) is to have a screening exam of the carotid arteries to check for dangerous atherosclerosis (plaque) build-up.Īlso included in this carotid artery screening is a measurement of the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the arteries. Cerebrovascular disease often goes undetected because many patients don’t have any symptoms before these attacks strike. suffer a stroke each year and 500,000 of these are first time attacks. Strokes remain the third leading cause of death in the United States.
