MayoClinic.com reprints
This single copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only. For permission to reprint multiple copies or to order presentation-ready copies for distribution, use the reprints link below.
· Order reprints of this article now.
Abdominal ultrasound
By Mayo Clinic staffMayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
When you hear the word "aneurysm," you might picture a bursting or bulged artery in the brain. However, aneurysms can occur in other places in the body. The abdominal aorta is one such place. This artery runs down the length of your abdomen and is responsible for supplying blood to the lower half of your body.
According to the Society for Vascular Surgery, nearly 200,000 people are diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm every year, and 15,000 people die when these aneurysms burst. Fortunately, these aneurysms can be detected with a painless, noninvasive ultrasound exam called an abdominal ultrasound. An abdominal ultrasound can help your doctor decide the best way to manage an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Why it's done
An abdominal ultrasound is usually done if you're at risk of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Risk factors for the condition include:
- Being male
- Age of 60 years or older
- A history of atherosclerosis — a thickening of the walls of your arteries
- A family history of abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Smoking
- High blood pressure (a systolic pressure of 140-159 millimeters of mercury, or mm Hg, and a diastolic pressure of 90-99 mm Hg)
- An aneurysm in one of your other arteries
- Chronic lung disease
Some doctors recommend a series of three tests, including an abdominal ultrasound, to thoroughly check for cardiovascular disease. The other tests recommended include an ankle-brachial index test to check for blocked arteries in your legs, and a carotid artery ultrasound to check for blocked arteries in your neck that could lead to a stroke. Talk to your doctor to see if undergoing all three of these tests is right for you.
How you prepare
Your doctor gives you specific instructions on how to prepare for your abdominal ultrasound. Often, you're asked not to eat or drink anything up to 12 hours before your exam.
What you can expect
A typical ultrasound exam is painless and takes about 20 minutes to an hour to complete.
Your abdominal ultrasound is usually performed by a specially trained technician (sonographer). During the exam, you lie on your back on an examination table and a small amount of warm gel is applied to your abdomen. The gel helps eliminate the formation of air pockets between your body and the instrument the technician uses to see your aorta, called a transducer. The sonographer presses the transducer against your skin over your abdomen, moving from one area to another.
The transducer sends images to a computer screen that the technician monitors. The technician monitors blood flow through your abdominal aorta to check for an aneurysm.
Cost
Medicare offers a one-time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm for people who qualify and request the screening within six months of enrolling in a Medicare program. Men who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetimes and anyone with a family history of abdominal aortic aneurysm are eligible for the benefit.
Results
Your doctor looks at the images from your ultrasound to see if you have an abdominal aortic aneurysm. If you do, your doctor may recommend one of these courses of action:
- Watchful waiting. If your aneurysm is smaller than 2 inches (5 centimeters) in diameter, your doctor may not think your aneurysm is serious enough to require surgery. If this is the case, your doctor may check your condition every six months for changes, using additional ultrasound exams or other imaging tests.
- Open aneurysm repair. If your aneurysm is serious enough to require surgery, your doctor may recommend open aneurysm repair. In this procedure, your doctor opens your abdomen, removes the portion of your abdominal aorta that has the aneurysm and replaces it with a tube-like graft.
- Endovascular stent graft. This procedure reinforces the weakened portion of the abdominal aorta with a graft similar to the type used in open aneurysm repair. Instead of opening your abdomen, a surgeon threads the graft through a thin tube called a catheter. The graft then supports the weakened portion of your aorta so that it won't rupture. Long-term results and benefits of endovascular surgery versus those of open aneurysm surgery are unknown.
