For people who have had a stroke, it is very important to have an ultrasound of the cerebral vessels , because a stroke is a direct result of a violation of blood circulation in the vessels. It is the conduct of this medical examination that will help the doctor more accurately determine the possibility of a second stroke. Ultrasound of the vessels of the brain can be performed as prescribed by a doctor, or simply by contacting a specialized clinic. And already with the results obtained, contact a specialist.
Before conducting an ultrasound of the head, some preparation is necessary. It is completely uncomplicated, but provides more accurate results when performing an ultrasound of the brain vessels. For several days before the study, you must refrain from eating, which affects blood pressure. It is not recommended to smoke before conducting an ultrasound for at least an hour, but better, of course, more.
Very often, a study of the vessels of the brain is carried out together with an examination of the vessels of the neck. It is such an examination that gives the most complete information about the blood supply to the brain, since the study of blood supply through the vertebral and subclavian arteries is carried out, carotid arteries are examined.
The essence of ultrasound of cerebral vessels is that ultrasound waves passing through a blood vessel are reflected in different ways. It depends on the amount and speed of blood flow in a particular vessel. After that, the received reflected ultrasonic waves are converted into electrical pulses and displayed on the screen. Thus, the doctor immediately sees blood circulation disorders in the vessels of the brain and can determine exactly where their narrowing or thrombosis occurs.
During an ordinary examination of the vessels of the brain, it is possible to determine only the patency of the vessels. But modern equipment allows for more detailed research. For example, duplex scanning already helps to evaluate not only the speed of blood flow, but also to see, examine the anatomy of the vessels themselves, and triplex scanning also accurately assesses the vascular patency, which is displayed in color.
Conducting ultrasound of the vessels of the head and neck allows you to:
- to assess the speed of blood flow in the blood vessels of the head and neck;
- conduct an early diagnosis of disorders in the blood vessels that are caused by atherosclerotic plaques and blood clots;
- accurately determine the site of narrowing of blood vessels ;
- More accurately determine the causes of frequent headaches;
- conduct an early diagnosis of aneurysm of the vessels of the head.
When it is recommended to perform ultrasound of the vessels of the head:
- if the examined patient has complaints of frequent headaches, loss of consciousness, the presence of extraneous noise in the head;
- with speech disorders and with the sudden occurrence of numbness of the legs and arms;
- if the patient has diseases such as hypertension, angina pectoris, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, as well as vegetative-vascular dystonia and other chronic diseases;
- in the presence of elevated cholesterol and excess weight, as well as in the event of changes in blood coagulation;
- for people who are over 40 years old, especially if close relatives had cases of strokes, heart attacks, atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension;
- also this procedure is necessary when preparing the patient for surgery and to conduct the effectiveness of the treatment already carried out.
An examination of the vessels of the brain is completely painless and takes only about 45 minutes. Immediately after this study, the patient can lead his usual lifestyle. After the study, you will be given its results in your hands, which can be deciphered by the doctor who performed the ultrasound, but usually they are consulted by a specialist who issued the direction for the study.