Conditions & Services / Aorta Duplex

An aorta duplex test is like an echo on the heart but it scans the main artery (Aortic Arch) that comes out of the heart and down the chest. It uses sound waves to look into the artery checking for blockage or enlargement. The word "Duplex" is also called "Doppler", "Ultrasound, or "Sonogram". 

The aorta has 3 sections, the ascending aorta, aortic arch, and descending aorta. The Ascending Aorta is the section of the artery coming straight out of the heart and goes to the upper curve of the artic arch. The Aortic Arch (Arch of Aorta) is the curved section at the top of the artery between the ascending and descending sections. The Descending Aorta is the next section that begins at the arch and runs down to the abdominal section.