Duplex ultrasound in the assessment of vascular disease in clinical hypertension.
Duplex ultrasound combines B-mode imaging and pulsed Doppler flow analysis and is rapidly becoming the most useful and widely applied method for the evaluation of atherosclerotic arterial disease. Recent technical improvements including color flow Doppler allow its application to practically all vascular beds in the body. Duplex is noninvasive and in many areas its accuracy in the detection of arterial stenosis and occlusion rivals angiography. Duplex ultrasound has become the preferred method of evaluation of patients with cerebrovascular disease. It provides information about the degree of stenosis, location of disease, and plaque characterization, and in many cases replaces standard cerebral arteriography. Duplex ultrasound has been used to detect renal artery stenosis in patients suspected of having renovascular hypertension with an accuracy of 93% in the diagnosis of hemodynamically significant stenosis. It also has important applications in the assessment of mesenteric artery stenosis, peripheral vascular disease, and venous disease. Because it is accurate, reasonably inexpensive, and noninvasive, duplex ultrasound can be used to follow the progression of untreated atherosclerotic lesions throughout the body. Used in this fashion, it provides important information about the natural history of atherosclerotic lesions, their clinical prognosis, and the effect of interventions, either medical or surgical, on lesions.
Taylor
D C
DC
Division of Vascular Surgery, Vancouver General Hospital, University of British Columbia, Canada.
D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D014463:Ultrasonography