What Should I Expect From My Nuclear Stress Test?
Most people when they find out they are going to have a nuclear stress test begin to wonder what to expect. For this cardiac stress test there are a few things you need to know. This will simply help you be better prepared, as that the nuclear stress test does take a couple hours.
When you show up for the nuclear stress test a nurse or nuclear stress test assistant will go over your entire medical history with you. This doesn’t matter if you are having the test done in your doctor’s office or in the hospital. Your health history will still need to be gone over and verified.
After your health history is obtained the Nuclear Medicine Technologists will spend time with you going over the exam. Making sure that you know what to expect, the procedure that takes place and the approximate amount of time that is needed. This is also the time where they will answer any questions you have about the test.
The radioactive substance is then injected. This is a concern for many people, understanding that the dose you are getting exposes you to less radiation then a regular chest X-Ray. Many people also worry about allergies to the radioactive substance. Myoview which is the name of the substance is not a contrast, it is not a dye and it does not contain iodine. This makes it so there are no side effects to the substance.
You will then be asked to rest, either sitting in a waiting room or in a bed for thirty minutes before pictures are taken of you heart. Then you will be taken into the lab where the scanning machine is located and you will be asked to lay on the table, with one or both arms above your head and you will need to lay perfectly still while the pictures are being taken, this takes about 20 minutes.
Once you have had your resting pictures taken you will be taken to the stress portion of the test. Here you will have electrodes placed on your chest, much like an EKG, so that the electrical activity of the heart is monitored while you are exercising. You will also have a blood pressure cuff put on so that periodically they can monitor your blood pressure while you are exercising.
The exercise can be done on a treadmill or a stationary bike. The exercise will last until you reach your peak heart rate. If you are unable to exercise they will give you a pharmacological to get the desired effects of exercise on the heart. If this has to be used it is not uncommon for people to have some side effects. The nuclear medicine tech will explain all of this to you prior to the exam beginning.
Once the stress portion is complete you will receive another injection of the Myoview, the radioactive substance, and pictures will be taken again in approximately 30 minutes.