Ultrasound

If your doctor says you need an ultrasound, ask to schedule your test at VHC Health in Arlington and the DC metro. Our ultrasound team provides clear, safe imaging to help your doctor better understand your health. We’ll guide you through each step to make sure you feel cared for and comfortable.

How Ultrasound Works

Ultrasound, also called a sonogram, uses harmless sound waves to make pictures of the inside of your body. It doesn’t use any radiation, like an X‑ray does. Because the images show up in real time, your care team can see how your organs look and move, and check how blood is flowing through your blood vessels.

What an Ultrasound Helps With

Your doctor may order ultrasound if you’re having pain, swelling, or other symptoms. It’s also one of the most common ways to check on a baby during pregnancy. Since ultrasound doesn’t use radiation, it’s safe for people of all ages.

Ultrasound can help your care team look at your:

• Belly and organs like the liver, kidneys, and gallbladder
• Blood vessels
• Heart
• Muscles, joints, and soft tissues
• Pelvic organs
• Thyroid

What to Expect

Most ultrasounds are done on the outside of your body. A technologist will place a warm, slippery gel on your skin. Then they’ll move a small device called a transducer over the area they need to study. You might feel gentle pressure, but it shouldn’t hurt.

As the device moves:

• Sound waves travel into your body.
• The waves bounce back, creating pictures.
• A computer shows these pictures on a screen in real time.

The test usually takes less than 30 minutes, and you can go home or back to your day right after.

How to Prepare

Most of the time, you don’t need to do anything special before an ultrasound. If you do need to take steps to prepare, we’ll let you know. Make sure to follow any instructions so your scan shows clear results.

Carotid Ultrasound

If you have certain health risks, your doctor might suggest a carotid ultrasound. This test looks at arteries in your neck that send blood to your brain. The scan might use Doppler ultrasound, which checks blood as it flows through a blood vessel.

Why Get Carotid Ultrasound?

Talk to your doctor about this test if you have:

• Advanced age
• Carotid bruit (sound in the neck heard with a stethoscope)
• Diabetes
• Dissection of the carotid artery (tear that lets blood leak into the artery wall, which can block blood flow or weaken the artery)
• Family history of stroke or heart disease
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Hematoma (clotted blood that may slow or even stop blood flow to the brain)
• Surgery affecting the carotid artery
• Stent placed to maintain carotid blood flow

A carotid ultrasound can help your doctor decide if you need medical care or lifestyle changes to reduce your risk of a stroke.