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Peripheral Arterial Evaluation
The Peripheral Arterial Evaluation is a noninvasive test that is done to help the physician find out if the arteries of your legs or arms are blocked or narrowed. When there is blockage or narrowing of the leg or arm arteries you may have pain, coldness, numbness or non-healing ulcers in the affected limb. The test uses ultrasound and blood pressure cuffs to record the blood pressure at different levels in the limb.
Prior to your appointment, be certain to ask your primary care doctor whether your arterial evaluation will take place in the Minneapolis Heart Institute clinic, or in Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s Special Diagnostics department. Both are located on the second floor of Abbott Northwestern’s Heart Hospital. When you get to the Abbott Northwestern campus, you should report to the Cardiovascular Family Care Center on the second floor of the Heart Hospital. (Choose from the following links to view maps and directions or a campus guide.) There is no special preparation required for this test, but you may want to bring a loose fitting pair of shorts along to wear during the test.
For this test you will be asked to lie quietly while a technologist moves a small instrument called a transducer over you legs or arms. During the Doppler portion of the exam you will hear your blood flow with your heartbeat. Blood pressure cuffs will be placed at several levels on your legs or arms, and the pressures will be recorded. You may experience mild to moderate discomfort when the cuffs are inflated to check the pressure. You may be asked to exercise your legs after the ultrasound and blood pressure recording portion of the test. The resulting images and numbers are recorded and stored in your record. The test takes approximately 60 to 90 minutes.
After the procedure you may leave without restrictions. There are no known risks from the use of ultrasound for medical diagnosis.
Other tests for this sub-specialty
Specializing Cardiologists
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