Is Your Neck Pain a Symptom of a Larger Problem?
Get the Answer with an Angiography Brain Test
If you're
experiencing neck pain, it's essential to know that it could indicate a more
significant problem, such as a brain aneurysm or stroke. While these problems
are rare, they can cause death or severe permanent disability if left
untreated, which is why it's so crucial to be able to recognize the symptoms
and act accordingly.
One way to
ensure your safety is to undergo angiography brain testing, which can help
detect any dangerous issues in your brain and neck area before they have time
to develop into full-blown problems.
Know your
symptoms
The spinal
cord, located in your neck, connects all parts of your body to your brain. When
something goes wrong with your spinal cord, it can cause you to experience neck
pain. Many different medical conditions can lead to pain and symptoms like
tingling or numbness in your arm or hand.
And without
treatment, these symptoms could be caused by a more significant problem that
requires more extensive care. One quick way to get answers and relief from
discomfort is through an angiography
brain test in our Chughtai lab. The test takes about 30 minutes and can
help determine if you have vascular disease or blockages that may be causing
clots to travel up and down through blood vessels in your neck.
Why
angiography is right for you
If you're
living with neck pain, you may have visited several doctors and tried several
treatments without relief. You might have concluded that your condition is due
to wear and tear on your spine from life in general or perhaps even from years
spent working in front of a computer.
But if you
want to find out what's causing your pain, another type of test could help
diagnose your problem: angiography.
What to
expect during the exam
If you have
unexplained symptoms like neck pain, you may be suffering from carotid disease,
a common and dangerous blood vessel disorder that can cause blood clots to form
in your arteries.
An imaging
test doctors use to detect carotid disease is called angiography. The procedure
involves inserting a thin tube into your arm and injecting it with dye, which
gets taken up by your heart and circulated through your bloodstream. Doctors
then take images using X-rays. When they look at these images, they can see if
there are any obstructions or blockages in your blood vessels due to plaque
buildup.
An angiogram
is like a moving X-ray
It uses an
IV and contrast to see inside your blood vessels. It's beneficial for
visualizing complicated parts of your brain or arteries. In particular, you can
use Chughtai Lab to diagnose irregular brain veins that may signal a
hemorrhagic stroke or peripheral arterial disease and abnormal connections
between different veins in your neck and head that may mean you have venous
malformation.
Another
common cause of abnormal vein patterns is cavernous cerebral malformation
(CCM). CCM is thought to be related to our immune system and could result from
genetic defects. The design of your angiogram will help doctors determine what
type of problem you might have so they can provide you with customized
treatment options.
Follow up
care
If your test
results suggest that you might have plaque buildup in your brain or neck
arteries, we will determine follow-up care on a case-by-case basis. Our health team
can refer you to other doctors who specialize in these ailments if need be.
Understanding
your medical history and risk factors is vital to get treated correctly. With
our essa
lab tests and careful examination, we'll make sure you receive the
proper care for heart health.
The
procedure itself
There are
two ways to perform angiography brain tests: traditional angiography and
transcranial Doppler ultrasound. Your doctor will place a hollow needle into
your carotid artery for both methods. If you're having conventional angiography,
you'll be given contrast dye; no paint is needed if you have transcranial
Doppler.
The angio
suite
Instead of
using MRI to assess stroke and other neurological issues, doctors sometimes use angiography. This test involves the injection of contrast fluid into both
carotid arteries in your neck.
These are
the major blood vessels in your neck that deliver blood flow to your brain.
When a doctor X-rays your neck and brain after injecting it with contrast
fluid, they can see if any blockages exist and thus determine whether or not
you're at risk for stroke.
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