Vascular Disease Diagnosis
At our Aurora facilities, we’ve implemented quality assurance programs to monitor and measure the outcomes of the vascular services that we provide.
Some of the more common tests to evaluate peripheral vascular disease include the following:
- Ankle-brachial index (ABI) test: can be performed in the physician office as an initial screen for circulation problems. To determine the ABI, your doctor takes pressures in both arms and ankles using a blood pressure cuff and a simple device to detect blood flow called a Doppler. The blood pressure readings are then used to calculate your ABI
- Vascular ultrasound: will also provide the physician information on circulation problems
- Computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans; provide more detailed information on circulation
- Angiography: sometimes needed to determine the need for further intervention
Symptoms
- Cramping in the legs, or claudication, could be due to a blocked artery. Patients usually notice cramping when they are active
- Sometimes patients have noticed a swelling in the arms or legs or pain in the extremity
- Sometimes the symptoms include abdominal or back pain, as a sign of blockage or aneurysm
- Symptoms may be described as numbness
These symptoms will be evaluated through diagnostic tests to determine the cause.