Week 5 - Lesson 2 (Part 2) Flashcards
What is the normal grey scale characteristics of the carotid arteries? (6)
- Smooth vessel walls
- No appreciable plaque in lumen
- Intimal-media layer is clearly visible
- Uniform throughout the length of the vessel
- Lumen is anechoic
- Occasional reverberation artifacts in lumen attributed to adjacent internal jugular vein
What are abnormalities that can be picked up in the grey scale of the carotid arteries? (3)
- Plaque
- Intraluminal defects
- Iatrogenic injury
Iatrogenic
Nicked/added injury (man made) to a vessel
What is the sonographers role when assessing the carotid arteries? (3)
- Assessing lumen for presence of wall thickening and plaque
- Measuring the AP wall thickness if abnormal
- Follow the protocol for carotid artery duplex exam in the department where you work
What do you do if there is a noticeable area of plaque anywhere in the system?
Run the doppler sample carefully throughout the potential stenosis
What are the 4 levels you document the doppler flow at a stenosis?
- Proximal to it
- assess flow change - Within it
- at highest attainable velocity
- take 3 different samples to find the highest one - Distal to it
- to detect post stenotic turbulence - Further downstream for tardus parvus waveform
What do you measure for grading purposes of a stenosis? (2)
- PSV on all vessels
2. EDV in the ICA stenosis
What are extra images to take for a stenosis? (2)
- Vertebral artery flow and direction with triplex doppler
- if there is reversal of flow in the vertebral artery, then the ipsilateral SCA must be assessed for stenosis/occlusion - ECA flow at the PSV
What is the waveform of a normal CCA?
Biphasic
- combination of ECA and ICA
What kind of diastole happens in the CCA?
A longer one
What kind of waveform happens at the proximal CCA of a stenosis?
Biphasic
- start to lose some of the end diastolic
What does a mid CCA of a stenosis look like sonographically? (4)
- Greater peaks
- gets sharp tall and fast
- first thing that gets affected - Higher velocities
- High diastolic flow
- severe (low for mild) - High pitch sound
What kind of waveform happens at the distal CCA of a stenosis?
Monophasic
What does a distal CCA of a stenosis look like sonographically? (4)
- Lose peaks
- blunted - Dampened waveform
- Slow flow
- Tardus parvus signalling
What will you see just distal to the stenosis of the CCA?
PST
- post stenotic turbulence
- they will have shattered peaks and spectral broadening