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Benefits and Risks - Carotid Ultrasound
Benefits
Carotid ultrasound is noninvasive and painless.
Ultrasound is widely available, easy-to-use and less expensive than other imaging methods.
Carotid ultrasound exams are extremely safe and do not use any ionizing radiation.
Ultrasound scanning gives a clear picture of soft tissues that do not show up well on x-ray images.
If a carotid ultrasound exam shows narrowing of one or both carotid arteries, treatment can be taken to restore the free flow of blood to the brain. Many strokes are prevented as a result.
Risks
For standard diagnostic ultrasound, there are no known harmful effects on humans.
In nearly 50 years of experience, carotid ultrasound has proved to be a risk-free procedure.