Finding the right tests…
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Emergency services available 24 x 7
Finding the right tests…
Sonography
DOPPLER BOTH LIMB ARTERIAL scans the arteries of both arms or both legs in the same visit, tracing blood flow into each limb and comparing one side against the other. Because peripheral artery disease can affect one leg more than the other, or affect both unevenly, scanning both sides lets your doctor see whether a finding on one side is isolated or part of a wider pattern. This differs from the venous version of the both-limb study, which checks the veins for a clot rather than the arteries for narrowing. Your doctor might order this when symptoms aren't clearly confined to one side, or when a side-to-side comparison is genuinely useful for the question being asked.
The scan measures blood flow speed and waveform shape at matched points on both limbs, then compares the two sides. A narrowing or blockage on one side often shows up as a clear difference in flow pattern between the left and right limb at the same point.
Peripheral artery disease narrows the arteries feeding an arm or leg, usually from plaque building up along the vessel wall, and it doesn't always affect both sides equally. Comparing left and right at matched points is one of the more useful things this scan can do that a single-limb version can't offer on its own.
A one-sided finding is easier to interpret with the other, presumably healthier, side available for comparison. If both legs show the same pattern, that also tells your doctor something, pointing toward a more general process rather than a local blockage on one side.
At each matched point down both limbs, the scan checks the pulsing pattern and speed of blood flow. A healthy artery gives a sharp, strong signal; a narrowed one produces a flatter, weaker signal downstream of the problem. The scan can also detect a flow signal that's simply missing at a given point.
This scan stays on the arterial side only, the vessels carrying blood into the limbs. A separate both-limb venous study exists for checking the veins that carry blood back out, which is the test used for a suspected blood clot rather than a narrowed artery.
Comparing both sides helps your doctor tell whether a finding is isolated to one limb or part of a broader pattern. It also gives a healthy-side reference point when interpreting the affected limb.
It's checking the arteries in both arms or both legs for narrowing or blockage, usually caused by plaque buildup along the vessel wall. That narrowing is what reduces blood reaching the hand or foot.
No. This is the arterial version, which looks at blood flowing into your limbs. A blood clot forms in a vein, which is what the separate both-limb venous scan checks for instead.
Not necessarily. It can affect one leg more than the other or be uneven between sides, which is part of why comparing both limbs in the same sitting is useful.
This page is general information about the test, not medical advice. Your own report's reference ranges apply — please discuss your results with your doctor.
No. This scan uses sound waves rather than X-rays, so there's no radiation dose, even if it needs to be repeated later.
Yes, scanning two limbs generally takes longer than scanning one. Ask the centre what to expect for timing on the day.
There's no single preparation instruction that applies to everyone. Ask your doctor or the centre what they'd like you to do beforehand.