Lakewood, NJ - Peripheral Vascular
Disease (PVD) refers to any disease or disorder of the circulatory
system outside of the brain and heart. PVD, the most
common disease of the arteries, is caused by a build-up of
fatty material within the vessels, called atherosclerosis. Some
of the most common symptoms would be swelling or pain in
the legs, tingling, skin discoloration and/or non-healing
wounds. If PVD is identified and controlled early,
surgical interventions can be avoided. Exercise, diet
and smoking cessation help control PVD. There are many
risk factors of PVD. Some of the most common include
obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease and smoking.
Interventional radiologists at Kimball Medical Center utilize
a non-invasive vascular technology called Pulse Volume Recording
to identify and evaluate PVD. Pulse Volume Recording
studies are performed without radiation.
According to Robert Cranley, MD, medical director of Radiology
at Kimball Medical Center, there are several parts to the
study. The first, called a Doppler study, records the
arterial signals in both legs from the top of the leg down
to the toes. In the second part, blood pressure cuffs
are placed down the legs and on the arms. A number
is recorded called the ankle-to-brachial index or ABI. Low
ABIs are indicative of peripheral arterial disease. The
third is pulse volume recording where the machine inflates
the cuffs in the legs to produce a signal from the artery,
similar to the Doppler signals obtained in the beginning
of the exam. For the final portion of the exam, the
patient does some minimal exercise to see if the symptoms
of leg pain can be duplicated. In total, the exam takes
approximately one hour to complete.
Following each study, detailed reports are created by one
of the highly-specialized interventional radiologists which
are immediately sent to each patient’s referring physician. This
information is utilized by the patient’s physician
to determine what course of treatment is best for the patient.
Pulse Volume Recording studies are performed in Kimball’s
vascular laboratory, which is staffed with a registered vascular
technologist and overseen by the staff of fellowship-trained
interventional radiologists.
Kimball radiologists are highly experienced and perform
over 90,000 imaging studies annually. All radiologists
are board-certified by the American Board of Radiology and
are fellowship-trained, and offer expertise in a wide range
of areas. Each is highly specialized in areas including
neuroimaging, musculoskeletal, body imaging, vascular and
general radiology. The radiology team also includes
registered nurses and professional certified radiologic technologists,
who all work together to provide the highest quality imaging
results possible.
Kimball offers a full array of state-of-the-art diagnostic
imaging services including:
- Diagnostic X-Ray
- Computed Tomography Scans
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- PET/CT Scans (Positron Emission Tomography and Computed
Tomography combined)
- Ultrasound
- Nuclear Medicine
- Interventional Radiology
- Bone Density Testing
In addition, the radiology department offers immediate appointment
availability, high resolution images and quick turnaround
time, so patients get their results faster.
For further information about the Radiology Department at
Kimball Medical Center or to schedule a test or procedure,
including Pulse Volume Recording studies, please call the
Radiology Access Line at 1-888-724-7123 and press option
2.
Date: August 11, 2009
CONTACT: Carrie Cristello
Director, Public Relations
732-923-6552
ccristello@barnabashealth.org
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