- With Mayo Clinic emeritus hypertension specialist
Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.
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Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.
Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.
Dr. Sheldon Sheps, emeritus professor of medicine and former chair of the Hypertension Division in the Department of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, has been with Mayo Clinic since 1960.
Dr. Sheps, a Winnipeg, Manitoba, native, is board certified in internal medicine and specializes in hypertension and peripheral vascular diseases. He developed a multidisciplinary approach with specially trained nurses, dietitians, technicians and educators to help form a team approach to the treatment of patients with abnormal blood pressure.
"I have always believed in involving the patient and family in their health care," he says. "I have asked for their understanding of the illness and issues and for participation in decisions. The Web is a natural extension of that, and now many more people can be informed."
Dr. Sheps chaired the sixth working group, and participated in the fourth, fifth and seventh groups, that developed the then-latest guidelines for hypertension under the auspices of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). He helped write the latest American Heart Association (AHA) report on blood pressure measurement. He chaired an AHA group that produced an online accreditation for blood pressure measurement for health professionals. He has co-authored books, newsletters, CD-ROMs and other Mayo Clinic health information material and joined Mayo Clinic's Web team in 1998. He was medical editor-in-chief of both editions of the "Mayo Clinic on High Blood Pressure" book; the last edition was published in 2003. He was also medical editor-in-chief of "Mayo Clinic 5 Steps to Controlling High Blood Pressure,'' published in 2008.
He was section editor for each of the first three editions of "Hypertension Primer" for the American Heart Association.
Dr. Sheps was also chairman of the Science Base Subcommittee, National High Blood Pressure Education Program, and was a consultant to the Hypertension Initiative of the World Health Organization. In 1997, he was honored with the Individual Achievement Award on the 25th anniversary of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program of NHLBI. In 2009, he was honored as a Distinguished Mayo Alumnus.
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Question
Doppler ultrasound: What is it used for?
What is a Doppler ultrasound?
Answer
from Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.
Doppler ultrasound is a noninvasive test that can be used to measure your blood flow and blood pressure by bouncing high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) off red blood cells. A regular ultrasound uses sound waves to produce images, but can't show blood flow.
A Doppler ultrasound can estimate how fast blood flows by measuring the rate of change in its pitch (frequency). During a Doppler ultrasound, a technician trained in ultrasound imaging (sonographer) presses a small hand-held device (transducer), about the size of a bar of soap, against your skin over the area of your body being examined, moving from one area to another as necessary. This test may be done as an alternative to more-invasive procedures such as arteriography and venography, which involve injecting dye into the blood vessels so that they shows up clearly on X-ray images.
A Doppler ultrasound may help diagnose many conditions, including:
- Blood clots
- Poorly functioning valves in your leg veins, which can cause blood or other fluids to pool in your legs (venous insufficiency)
- Heart valve defects and congenital heart disease
- A blocked artery (arterial occlusion)
- Decreased blood circulation into your legs (peripheral artery disease)
- Bulging arteries (aneurysms)
- Narrowing (stenosis) of an artery, such as those in your neck (carotid ultrasound)
This test may also help your doctor check for injuries to your arteries or to monitor certain treatments to your veins and arteries.
- Duplex ultrasound. Society for Vascular Surgery. http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Duplex_Ultrasound.html. Accessed Feb. 12, 2009.
- Ultrasound — vascular. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=vascularus. Accessed Feb. 12, 2009.
- Duplex and Doppler ultrasound. University of California San Francisco Medical Center. http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/adam/data/003433.html. Accessed Feb. 12, 2009.
