ULTRASOUND - AORTA

Alternative Names:  aorta ultrasound, aorta sonography, ultrasound of the aorta

PATIENT PREPARATION FOR AORTA ULTRASOUND

• Patients must not have nothing to eat or drink (be "NPO") for at least 4 hours prior to the examination in order to minimize gas in the stomach and intestines so that the aorta can be seen as clearly as possible.

• If possible, the patient really should be NPO for 8-12 hours.

• Examinations of this nature are usually scheduled for the early morning and the patient is instructed to not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before the exmaination.

• The timing of the examination is especially important for diabetic patients who must eat on a schedule in order to keep their blood sugar controlled.

EQUIPMENT SET UP

• Use a curvilinear probe (looks like a convex rectangle) if possible because it has a larger field of view and better resolution.

• If there is lots of bowel gas present, use a phased array probe which has a smaller footprint and better penetration. However, the resolution is not quite as good.

• Transducer frequencies range from 5 MHz for thin patients to 2.25MHz for very large patients.

• Choose the "Abdomen" or the "Aorta" machine preset which optimizes the computersettings for imaging of the aorta.

• Put the patient's identifying information (Name, Medical Record Number, etc) into the machine for future identification.

• Many clinics have the sonographer make notes regarding the patient's symptoms and history in the patient menu or on the monitor screen and document this information for the radiologist to utilize when interpreting the sonogram.

PATIENT POSITION

The patient should lie on the examination table on his or her back in the supine position.

TECHNIQUE

• The sonographer must be very careful to keep the probe perpendicular to the aorta so that the diameter is not overestimated.

• In these images, the vessels should be measured in the right-to-left dimension.

• The sonographer must be very careful to keep the probe perpendicular to the aorta so that the diameter is not overestimated.

• The sonographer can also move the probe to the right lateral portion of the lower abdomen and aim the sound beam in a coronal plane to image the distal aorta and both common iliac arteries in a single image.

• This can be useful to demonstrate whether an aneurysm extends from the aorta down into one or both common iliac arteries.

AORTA PATHOLOGY

• Aneurysm of sinus of Valsalva

• Aortic aneurysm - myotic, bacterial (e.g. syphilis), senile, genetic, associated with valvular heart disease

• Dissecting aortic aneurysm

• Aortic coarctation - pre-ductal, post-ductal

• Transposition of the great vessels, see also dextro-Transposition of the great arteries and levo-Transposition of the great arteries

• Atherosclerosis

• Marfan syndrome

• Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

• Aortic stenosis

• Trauma, such as traumatic aortic rupture, most often thoracic and distal to the left subclavian artery and frequently quickly fatal

AORTIC ULTRASOUND SAMPLE PROTOCOL (TYPICALLY)

This sample protocol is meant for educational purposes and the exact technique will depend on the patient's clinical indication for the examination and the radiologist's guidance.

1. Proximal Aorta (near the diaphragm; superior to the celiac axis) axial image with mediolateral and AP measurements.  If there is anatomic stenosis, calculate percentage.

2. Proximal aorta:  doppler ultrasound waveforms with documentation of peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), and Resistive index (RI) calculation.

3. Mid Aorta (inferior to the origin of the superior mesenteric artery) mediolateral and AP measurements.  If there is anatomic stenosis, calculate percentage.

4. Mid aorta doppler ultrasound waveforms with documentation of peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), and Resistive index (RI) calculation

5. Renal Artery Origin (near the mid level, but demonstrating origin of at least one renal artery leaving the aorta)

6. Distal Aorta (just superior to the bifurcation into the common iliac arteries) mediolateral and AP measurements.

7. Distal Aorta ultrasound waveforms with documentation of peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), and Resistive index (RI) calculation

8. Proximal right internal iliac artery mediolateral and AP dimensions.  If there is anatomic stenosis, calculate percentage. 

Schedule Your Aorta Ultrasound Today! 

• If you are looking for professional radiology services at your imaging site/center, call us at 1-800-626-8315 or contact us for a consultation. 

• If you live in Los Angeles, Century City, Glendale, Mid-Wilshire and need to schedule a radiology examination such as a MRI, CT Scan, Ultrasound, X ray, or PET scan, contact us to schedule an appointment. 

• If you are in search of other things, we're surprisingly resourceful!  Call us 1-800-626-8315 or contact us via our contact form.

• ultrasound-aorta
• show_title= link_titles= show_intro= show_section= link_section= show_category= link_category= show_vote= show_author= show_create_date= show_modify_date= show_pdf_icon= show_print_icon= show_email_icon= language= keyref= readmore=
• aorta ultrasound, aorta sonography, ultrasound of the aorta
• Ultrasound of the aorta informational page including patient preparation, equipment set up, patient position, technique, pathology, and performing the aortic ultrasound
• robots= author=