Ischemia
Ischemia means a body part is not getting enough blood supply, which can injure tissue if it persists.
When to get help quickly: Ischemia can be an emergency. Urgent hospital care is important for chest pain, stroke-like symptoms, severe abdominal pain, or a suddenly cold, pale, or painful arm or leg.
Common symptoms
Symptoms depend on the organ involved and may include chest pain, weakness, trouble speaking, severe abdominal pain, a cold or painful limb, numbness, or shortness of breath.
When imaging helps
Imaging helps when doctors need to identify where blood flow is reduced, whether a vessel is blocked, and whether the affected tissue has already been damaged.
What radiology does
Imaging helps show where blood flow is reduced and whether tissue damage has already occurred, depending on the organ involved.
What usually happens next
Treatment depends on the cause and urgency and may involve restoring blood flow, medicines, or procedure-based treatment.
Seen this on your report?
Your doctor or the radiologist who wrote it can tell you what it means for you.
Related scan guides
- Embolization Procedures: An OverviewEmbolization is a procedure where an interventional radiologist intentionally blocks a specific blood vessel to stop bleeding or starve a tumor of its blood supply — all without open surgery.
- Gastrointestinal Bleeding EmbolizationGastrointestinal (GI) bleeding embolization is a potentially life-saving procedure used to stop active bleeding occurring inside your stomach or intestines.
- Myocardial Perfusion ScanA myocardial perfusion scan is a nuclear medicine test that evaluates blood flow through your heart muscle at rest and during exercise. It helps detect blocked or narrowed coronary arteries.