How to Check Blockages With Doppler Echos

Carotid artery disease affects vessels leading to both the heart and brain. It can be harmful and potentially deadly, since blockages can stop the delivery of oxygen-rich blood to vital organs through arteries in the front and back of the neck. Carotid artery disease can lead to a stroke or ministroke (transient ischemic attack, or TIA). Health care providers can check on arterial blockages with equipment called Doppler ultrasound, or Doppler "echo," a form of echocardiography that uses sound waves to detect blockages.

Instructions

• 1

  Instruct your patient to lie on the examination table, face up. You'll need to access the upper torso, but they can also lie on their side, facing you, if that is more comfortable.

• 2

  Place electrodes on the patient's bare chest and couple them with wires called "leads" that connect to an echocardiogram machine. Proper three- and five-lead placement can be found in the "References" section.

• 3

  Apply the transducing gel on your patient's chest and use the transducer to send high-frequency sound waves that bounce off the heart and return as echoes through the same transducer.

• 4

  Start on the left side of the chest, above the heart, and move to the right side of the chest. Make certain the patient holds still during this procedure, as the slightest movement can effect the result.

• 5

  Interpret the results, either on your own or with the help of a cardiologist or other specialist in the field. Blockages might be obvious if they're large, but could be hard to notice if they're slight. Either way, a carotid artery block is serious.