What Can Be Included in an Onsite Cardiovascular Screening?
If I told you that ForgedWell offers carotid, aortic, ABI, PVR, TBI and EKG screening, you might think I just started speaking another language.
Don't worry. If you don't work in healthcare, you aren't expected to know what any of those letters mean.
I've been a vascular ultrasound technologist for more than 20 years, so let me explain what I'm actually doing when I perform these screenings.
Looking at the arteries in your neck
A carotid screening uses ultrasound to look at the blood vessels in your neck.
These are called the carotid arteries, and they carry blood toward your brain.
I'll put some ultrasound gel on your neck and use a handheld ultrasound probe to look at the arteries and the blood moving through them.
I'm looking at the vessel walls and checking for things such as plaque or other findings that may need to be discussed with your healthcare provider.
And yes, the gel is cold. That's probably the most exciting part of the test.
[Read more: What Is a Carotid Screening?]
Looking at your aorta
Your aorta is the largest artery in your body. Part of it runs through your abdomen.
With an aortic screening, I'll put some ultrasound gel on your abdomen and use the ultrasound probe to look at the aorta and take measurements.
One of the things we're looking for is enlargement of the abdominal aorta, which can be referred to as an abdominal aortic aneurysm, or AAA.
You generally don't feel the ultrasound itself, and there are no needles or radiation involved.
[Read more: What Is an Aortic or AAA Screening?]
Checking circulation in your legs and feet
This is where the alphabet soup starts.
ABI. PVR. TBI.
They're actually pretty simple tests once you know what the letters mean.
These tests give me information about blood flow through your legs and feet.
For an ABI, I take blood pressure measurements at your arms and ankles and compare them.
For a PVR, I place cuffs around different parts of your legs and measure changes in blood volume as your heart pumps blood through your legs.
For a TBI, I take a pressure measurement at your toe and compare it with the pressure in your arm.
Why the toe?
Sometimes the arteries around the ankle can become stiff and difficult to measure accurately. A toe pressure can give us additional information in certain situations.
[Read more: ABI, PVR and TBI: What Are Those Tests Actually Checking?]
Taking a look at your heart's electrical activity
The last test is the 12-lead EKG.
I'll place small adhesive electrodes, or stickers, on your chest and limbs. Those stickers pick up the electrical activity your heart is already producing and send that information to the EKG machine.
They don't send electricity into you.
They're just listening.
The EKG records your heart's electrical activity from multiple views and can provide information about your heart rate, rhythm, and certain electrical patterns that may need further evaluation.
[Read more: What Is a 12-Lead EKG?]
Why do all of this at work?
This is the part that matters most to me.
I've spent more than 20 years working in vascular imaging, and I've seen firsthand why paying attention to cardiovascular health matters.
I've also seen how easy it is for busy people to put their own healthcare off.
So ForgedWell brings the screening to the workplace.
You don't have to spend your day off driving somewhere for testing.
You don't have to find another appointment that works with your shift.
We come to you.
The goal isn't to replace your doctor.
It's to make getting screened a little easier, so you're more likely to actually do it.