Tests for Vascular Disease

Vascular and arterial diseases

Vascular and arterial diseases typically involve narrow or blocked blood vessels. This can affect function in other organs, but it most commonly causes pain and discomfort in the legs. We screen for common vascular and arterial diseases such as:

• Coronary artery disease
• Peripheral artery disease (also known as peripheral vascular disease)
• Venous reflux disease (also known as venous insufficiency)

Learn how we treat vascular and arterial disease.

Diagnosing vascular disease

There are a number of methods we use to diagnose vascular disease. Among the most common are:

• Ankle-brachial index test (ABI) for peripheral vascular disease – The ankle-brachial index is a non- invasive test performed using a Doppler machine to test for blood flow through the legs. The test compares blood pressure measurements in the ankle and the arm.
• Vascular angiogram – An X-ray using contrast dye detects blockage and narrowing of the vessels.
• Vascular ultrasound – High-frequency sound waves create images of blood vessels to assess blood flow.