Carotid Ultrasound

Leslie M Scoutt; Gowthaman Gunabushanam

doi:10.1016/j.rcl.2019.01.008

Carotid Ultrasound

Radiol Clin North Am. 2019 May;57(3):501-518. doi: 10.1016/j.rcl.2019.01.008. Epub 2019 Feb 22.

Authors

Leslie M Scoutt¹, Gowthaman Gunabushanam²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, PO Box 208042, New Haven, CT 06520-8042, USA. Electronic address: leslie.scoutt@yale.edu.
² Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, PO Box 208042, New Haven, CT 06520-8042, USA.

PMID: 30928074
DOI: 10.1016/j.rcl.2019.01.008

Abstract

Doppler ultrasound (US) is the primary noninvasive imaging modality for detecting, grading, and monitoring extracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis, which is a well-established surrogate marker for stroke risk. In addition, Doppler US is the primary imaging modality for surveillance of patients following carotid intervention with endarterectomy or stent placement. This article reviews the pathophysiology and epidemiology of stroke, technique for performing a carotid US examination, normal findings, and diagnostic US criteria for evaluating carotid plaque, grading stenosis in the native ICA and following intervention, as well as waveform analysis of the carotid arteries.

Keywords: Carotid plaque; Carotid ultrasound; Internal carotid artery stenosis; Intimal medial thickening; Spectral Doppler.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Blood Flow Velocity
Carotid Artery Diseases / complications*
Carotid Artery Diseases / diagnostic imaging*
Carotid Artery Diseases / pathology
Diagnosis, Differential
Humans
Sensitivity and Specificity
Ultrasonography / methods*