Ultra Sound Specialist
Fast Access Healthcare
Primary Care Practice located in Chattanooga, Hixson, East Ridge, Cleveland, Dunlap, Sale Creek, & Jasper TN
As an urgent care clinic, Fast Access Healthcare — with seven locations in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the surrounding suburbs — offers several onsite diagnostic tests to help expedite a diagnosis. That includes ultrasounds, which are available at a number of the urgent care facilities. Whether you want to check on the health of your baby or have concerns about your heart, Fast Access Healthcare welcomes walk-ins, or you can schedule an appointment online to meet a caring healthcare professional and have an ultrasound.
Ultrasound Q & A
What is an Ultrasound ?
An ultrasound is a non-invasive and painless procedure that uses sound waves to obtain pictures of the inside of your body. The Fast Access doctors might use ultrasound on a particular part of your body if you’re complaining of pain, experiencing swelling, or have an infection.
Fast Access Healthcare offers general ultrasounds at most of their clinics. This type of ultrasound may be used to look at your:
- Stomach and pancreas
- Liver and gallbladder
- Bladder and kidneys
- Uterus, ovaries, or baby
- Thyroid and parathyroid glands
How do ultrasounds work?
A sonographer first spreads a special gel on the skin on the area in which the doctor wants to look. Then, the doctor places a probe on the gelled area, which transmits high-frequency sound waves into your body. These sound waves return to the ultrasound computer, which generates an image.
Unlike X-rays, ultrasounds can create a picture without the use of radiation, making it a very safe procedure. And because the image is in real time, it plays like a movie, so the doctor sees not only the structure of what’s being examined but movement, as well.
What is a vascular ultrasound?
In addition to a general ultrasound, Fast Access Healthcare also offers vascular ultrasounds. This type of ultrasound looks at the arteries and veins throughout your body.
Unlike a general ultrasound, which creates pictures of the stationary parts in your body such as your stomach and heart, a vascular ultrasound can create moving images of the blood coursing through your arteries.
Why would someone need a vascular ultrasound?
The doctors at Fast Access Healthcare might recommend a vascular ultrasound to diagnose:
- A blood clot
- Abdominal aneurysm
- Varicose veins
- Blocked arteries
How do you prepare for an ultrasound?
As a non-invasive procedure, there’s nothing you need to do to prepare for an ultrasound. And after the test is complete, you can go back to your usual activities.
Whether it’s an urgent medical matter or your primary doctor has recommended an ultrasound, Fast Access Healthcare can help. Walk-ins are welcome or call to schedule an appointment at a nearby clinic online.