Ultrasound Services*

*Ultrasound services are temporarily unavailable due to COVID-19

Dr. Husna Baksh and her team at Healthy Steps in Silver Spring, Maryland, use ultrasound technology to diagnose faulty heart valves, an enlarged thyroid, and other conditions that may affect your overall health. Ultrasound studies are performed at the Healthy Steps facility, saving you the inconvenience of traveling to another location. It’s just one of the many ways Healthy Steps makes it easier for you to get quality, personalized healthcare.

Ultrasound Services Q & A

Ultrasound testing uses high-frequency sound waves to provide an accurate rendition of organs, blood vessels, and tissues within your body. An advantage of ultrasound technology is that it does not use radiation to capture its pictures, making it a safe diagnostic tool for a variety of patients, including expectant mothers. Another advantage of the ultrasound is that it captures moving images rather than the still “photos” you get from standard X-rays.

Considered one of the most reliable and safest techniques for diagnosing or helping evaluate the severity of many serious medical conditions, the ultrasound is noninvasive and completely pain-free. And you get to lean back and relax while a technician does all the work.

Depending on the reason for the study, such as a check of your heart function, the ultrasound technician may attach sticky patches (electrodes) to several areas to record your heartbeat. The tech then applies a specially formulated gel to the skin in the area being studied.

For the duration of the study, the technician moves a hand-held device called a transducer over the area of interest, pressing it firmly against your skin so the device makes contact. Sound waves emitted by the transducer travel through the gel, bounce (echo) off the organ or vessels being studied, and transmit those images to a computer monitor. The entire procedure generally lasts less than 60 minutes.

Ultrasounds available at the Healthy Steps facility include:

Thyroid ultrasound to evaluate for enlargement, nodules, or cancer
2D echocardiogram to evaluate the heart’s anatomical structures (muscle walls and valves)
Carotid Doppler to evaluate the carotid arteries, which are blood vessels that carry oxygen to the brain
Abdominal aorta ultrasound to evaluate for possible aneurysms or abnormalities in the large blood vessel called the abdominal aorta
Ankle brachial index (ABI) ultrasound study to check for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) or narrowing of the arteries in the legs and other regions
Venous ultrasound study to evaluate the blood vessels (veins) to the legs to check for “leakage” or reverse flow