Some reasons your doctor ordered your vascular ultrasound. Symptoms of stroke can sometimes be explained by the discovery of a narrowing of one or more of the carotid arteries in your neck. Other arteries can be evaluated in the ultrasound laboratory. These include superficial blood vessels in the arms and legs.
Some ultrasound laboratories attempt to detect narrowing of deeper vessels in the abdomen.
Ultrasound is a very sensitive and non-invasive way to check the veins in the legs, to rule out the possibility of clots. Studies of peripheral veins and arteries require no special preparation. Because cigarette smoking can cause blood vessels to constrict, smoking prior to an arterial study may be discouraged. Studies of the vessels deep in the abdomen are adversely affected by bowel activity and gas. For this reason, restriction of food and liquid intake is recommended for at least 6-8 hours prior to the vascular ultrasound.