Nuclear Stress Test
What is a Nuclear Stress Test?
You went to see your doctor, complaining of chest pain, chest tightness and/or shortness of breath. Perhaps you have a family history of heart disease and now your doctor has told you that he wants you to have a nuclear stress test done. We all know that being in a doctor’s office discussing heart related issues can be a stressful time, and right now you are having problems remembering what the doctor told you about the test. It could be that the doctor didn’t really explain the test at all. Here we are going to take a look at what a nuclear stress test is.
A nuclear stress test is a test that is performed either in a doctor’s office or at a hospital. It is done on an outpatient basis, usually lasting anywhere from 4 to 6 hours depending on the facility and the type of nuclear stress test that is being done. This stress test involves the injection of a radioactive substance. This radioactive substance mixes in with your blood that flows to your heart.
This substance helps the scanner take pictures of your heart while you are laying perfectly still on the table. This is a noninvasive procedure, where the most uncomfortable aspect is the injection and having to hold still during the scan. The radioactive substance, in essences helps the heart “glow” for the camera. So that the camera or scanner can take pictures of your heart as it pumps and pushes the blood in and out.
The pictures give your doctor an accurate depiction of how your heart muscle is working.
If there is an area of your heart that is not getting the blood flow that it should it will appear as a light spot on the pictures because the radioactive substance is not able to get there.
As stated earlier there are different types of nuclear stress test. One is called the myocardial perfusion scan. With this nuclear stress test you will exercise on a treadmill or stationary bike. The exercise will last until you reach your target heart rate and then you are given the injection and then pictures are taken.
Now there are some facilities that will take pictures of your heart at rest first and then you will exercise and pictures will be taken again to compare your heart at rest and after stress. Other facilities will have you exercise, give the injection and then do the pictures and in a few hours you will have the resting pictures taken.
Another nuclear stress test is called the multiple gated acquisition scan. The only difference here is that you are given the injection before exercise. The still take pictures of your heart before and after exercise. This type of scan is more to see the motion of your heart and how well it is pumping. The myocardial perfusion scan is actually looking to see if there is any narrowing of the arteries around the heart.
There is also the adenosine nuclear stress test. This test is more for people that are unable to exercise. The adenosine helps to speed up the heart, in other words it gives the heart the effects of exercising so that pictures can be taken and compared.