What can neck ultrasound detect?

B-ultrasound is a type of imaging test that is often seen in hospitals. There are many types of B-ultrasound, such as gynecological B-ultrasound, abdominal B-ultrasound, carotid artery ultrasound, etc. Nowadays, with the increasing number of people suffering from atherosclerosis, many patients will undergo carotid artery ultrasound examination. Carotid artery ultrasound can detect many cardiovascular problems, such as the presence of atherosclerotic plaques under the intima, vascular stenosis and the degree of stenosis.

1. Contents of carotid ultrasound

Ultrasound examination of the carotid artery refers to the use of a high-frequency B-type ultrasound probe to examine the common carotid artery and its bulb, as well as the proximal segment of the internal carotid artery. The examination mainly includes measuring the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery to check whether there are atherosclerotic plaques under the intima, observing the morphology and structure of the atherosclerotic plaques, determining whether the atherosclerotic plaques have caused stenosis of the vascular lumen and the degree of stenosis, etc. In short, it is to check and understand the atherosclerosis status of the carotid artery.

2. Importance of the carotid artery

Carotid intima-media thickening is an early manifestation of atherosclerosis and its clinical significance has attracted much attention and has been studied the most. In recent years, carotid artery B-ultrasound examination has become very popular in health examinations and clinical work, because many serious cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, cardiac fall death, cerebral infarction, etc. are mostly caused by atherosclerosis of related blood vessels. Atherosclerosis can be regarded as the main culprit of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, people hope to have a simple method to understand the condition of arterial blood vessels more accurately. It happens that the thick carotid artery is located on the superficial surface of the neck.

3. Clinical significance of carotid artery ultrasound

Carotid artery ultrasound is one of the effective means to diagnose and evaluate carotid artery wall lesions. It plays a key role in the epidemiological survey of atherosclerosis and the effectiveness evaluation of atherosclerosis prevention and treatment trials.

4. Precautions for carotid artery ultrasound examination

Before the examination, no special preparation is generally required before the carotid artery color Doppler ultrasound examination. Just remove any neck ornaments that may affect the examination before the examination. If you have just finished strenuous exercise, you need to rest for 5-10 minutes and then check again after your breathing and heart rate are relatively stable. During the examination, the patient only needs to actively cooperate with the doctor and prepare according to the doctor's requirements.