Putting Hemodynamics at the Center: A Systemic Approach to Teaching Vascular Ultrasound

Abstract

A systemic framework for teaching vascular sonography that is centered on hemodynamics is useful to unify the initial test-by-test approach that developed with the pioneering and expansion of the field. Vascular sonography education is most powerful when taught with a system-level view of the circulation that connects how vascular anatomy (form) and physiology (function) are inextricably linked with hemodynamics (flow). Furthermore, understanding hemodynamic principles is key to using waveform morphology as a diagnostic tool. Teaching a system-based, hemodynamic-centered perspective aligns with the objectives of the recent Consensus Statement on Doppler Waveforms by the Society for Vascular Medicine and the Society for Vascular Ultrasound and equips the vascular sonography student to recognize, understand, and appropriately document vascular findings.