Vasc-Alert is an FDA approved, non-invasive screening/surveillance test used to potentially help in identify narrowing in grafts and fistulas. Monitoring and surveillance usage helps your caregiver make sure your access is working properly and may alert him/her to problems so your access can be repaired and to prevent it from clotting. If your access clots, there is a greater chance that you could lose the access than if it had been treated by angioplasty before a clotting event. 

How It Works

Vasc-Alert uses information that is already being collected during your treatment. Calculations are made to determine the pressure inside of your vascular access, and then those pressures are trended every treatment. If the calculated pressures trend over a set threshold, it indicates potentially abnormal results that should be investigated.  If this happens with your vascular access, your caregiver will look at other things that may indicate vascular access problems. These indicators include your lab adequacy results, decreases in blood flow rate/increases in venous or arterial pressure during your treatment, changes in the appearance of your access, problems putting the needles in, bleeding more than 20 minutes after the needles are removed, pain or swelling in the access extremity and whether you have had recurrent vascular access problems. Once all of these factors have been evaluated, you may be referred for further vascular access evaluation at an access center, hospital or surgeon’s office.