Small scanners find hidden heart disease

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Medical Writer

MADISON, Wis. - What if your doctor could swipe a wand over your neck and reveal whether you have hidden heart disease?

That is now possible in places other than the sickbay of the starship Enterprise.

Miniature ultrasound machines are starting to make their way into ordinary doctors' offices, where they may someday be as common as stethoscopes and EKGs. A pocket-sized one weighing less than 2 pounds hit the market last week.

Some of these devices can make images of neck arteries, which offer a "window" to heart arteries that cannot easily be seen. If the neck vessels are clogged, doctors know that those around the heart probably are, too, and that treatment or more testing is needed.

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