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mother has history of right leg bypass graft and has recently had edema in her right leg.
Optional Information: Female, Age: 68, KansasAlready Tried: looked on many websites
HiCustomer
PVR stands for "Pulse Volume Recordings," and is a study used to measure the blood flow through the arteries of the arms and/or legs. With a PVR study, the doctor can evaluate the arteries and determine if there are any indications of an obstruction (clot, embolism, for example) associated with peripheral arterty disease. If a blockage is found, they can also assess how severe the condition is in each case.
This procedure is very non invasive and generally involves the use of blood pressure cuffs and a doppler instrument that measures the strength of blood flow in the arteries (from outside the skin). With the use of a doppler instrument, a gel is placed on the skin to help conduct the sound waves emitted by the device. These sound waves will then bounce off of the vascular structures and allow the device to "listen" to the blood flow and make measurements of pressure, which are recorded and then interpreted by the doctor. If you've ever had a baby and had the doctor listen to the fetal heartbeat with an instrument, this was likely a similar sort of doppler device.
There are a few different types of PVRs, but one of the common ones for looking at leg veins is the Ankle Brachial Index (ABI). With this type of PVR study, they measure the pressure in the legs and then compare it to the pressure in the arms. If the pressure in the legs is lower, this might indicate a problem with the leg arteries. Another type of PVR that is commonly done involves the patient walking on a treadmill (Exercise Testing PVR) and taking measurements with the cuffs and doppler to look for the location of the obstruction, if there is one present. Some patients will need to take a combination of different PVR tests, but they are all, essentially, done the same way.
You can expect the test to take anywhere from 30-90 minutes to do in most cases. Usually, the patient will be asked not to smoke or do any kind of vigorous exercise 24 hours before the test, as these things might affect the results.
I hope this helps!
B.S. Biology/Psychology
B.S. Biology/Psychology - University of Georgia