Health Library

Doppler ultrasound exam of an arm or leg

PVD - Doppler; PAD - Doppler; Blockage of leg arteries - Doppler; Intermittent claudication - Doppler; Arterial insufficiency of the legs - Doppler; Leg pain and cramping - Doppler; Calf pain - Doppler; Venous Doppler - DVT

This test uses ultrasound to look at the blood flow in the large arteries and veins in the arms or legs.

Images

I Would Like to Learn About:

How the Test is Performed

The test is done in the ultrasound or radiology department, a hospital room, or in a peripheral vascular lab.

During the exam:

• A water-soluble gel is placed on a handheld device called a transducer. This device directs high-frequency sound waves to the artery or veins being tested.
• Blood pressure cuffs may be put around different parts of the body, including the thigh, calf, ankle, and different points along the arm.

How to Prepare for the Test

You will need to remove clothes from the arm or leg being examined.

How the Test will Feel

Sometimes, the person performing the test will need to press on the vein to make sure it does not have a clot. Some people may feel slight pain from the pressure.

Why the Test is Performed

This test is done as the first step to look at arteries and veins. Sometimes, arteriography and venography may be needed later. The test is done to help diagnose:

• Atherosclerosis of the arm or leg arteries
• Blood clot (deep vein thrombosis or DVT)
• Venous insufficiency
• Superficial thrombophlebitis

The test may also be used to:

• Look at injury to the arteries
• Monitor arterial reconstruction and bypass grafts

Normal Results

A normal result means the blood vessels show no signs of narrowing, clots, or closure, and the arteries have normal blood flow.

What Abnormal Results Mean

Abnormal results may be due to:

• Blockage in an artery by a blood clot
• Blood clot in a vein (DVT)
• Narrowing or widening of an artery
• Spastic arterial disease (arterial contractions brought on by cold or emotion)
• Venous occlusion (closing of a vein)
• Venous reflux (blood flow going the wrong direction in veins)
• Arterial occlusion from atherosclerosis

Risks

There are no risks from this procedure.

Considerations

Cigarette smoking may alter the results of this test. Nicotine can cause the arteries in the extremities to constrict.

Quitting smoking lowers the risk for problems with the heart and circulatory system. Most smoking-related deaths are caused by cardiovascular problems, not lung cancer.

Related Information

References

Aziz MU, Zahid M, Weber TM, Robbin ML. Peripheral veins. In: Rumack CM, Levine D, eds. Diagnostic Ultrasound. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 26.

Bonaca MP, Hess CN, Creager MA. Peripheral artery diseases. In: Bonow RO, Mann DL, Tomaselli GF, et al, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 13th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2026:chap 40.

Zahid M, Lockhart ME, Robbin ML. Peripheral arteries. In: Rumack CM, Levine D, eds. Diagnostic Ultrasound. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 25.

Review Date: 1/13/2026  

Reviewed By: Neil Grossman, MD, Radiologist, Wayland, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, for Health Content Provider (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language.

© 1997- 2026 A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

All content on this site including text, images, graphics, audio, video, data, metadata, and compilations is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may view the content for personal, noncommercial use. Any other use requires prior written consent from Ebix. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, publish, reverse-engineer, adapt, modify, store beyond ordinary browser caching, index, mine, scrape, or create derivative works from this content. You may not use automated tools to access or extract content, including to create embeddings, vectors, datasets, or indexes for retrieval systems. Use of any content for training, fine-tuning, calibrating, testing, evaluating, or improving AI systems of any kind is prohibited without express written consent. This includes large language models, machine learning models, neural networks, generative systems, retrieval-augmented systems, and any software that ingests content to produce outputs. Any unauthorized use of the content including AI-related use is a violation of our rights and may result in legal action, damages, and statutory penalties to the fullest extent permitted by law. Ebix reserves the right to enforce its rights through legal, technological, and contractual measures.