A nuclear perfusion scan<\/a> is ordered to look at how blood is flowing to your heart muscle.\u00a0 Two sets (rest and stress) of pictures are taken on 2 separate days.\u00a0 For the first part (rest part) of the test, a nuclear medicine technologist will take pictures of your heart in a resting state.<\/p>\nFor the second part of the test (stress part), pictures of the heart will be taken when it is working hard. This is usually accomplished by having you exercise on a treadmill.\u00a0 If you are unable to exercise for any reason, you will be given a medication (dipyridamole or dobutamine) to make your heart work hard instead.<\/p>\n
A stress technologist or physician will explain the risks and benefits of the stress test and will ask you to sign a consent form.\u00a0 Your skin will be prepared and electrodes will be placed on your chest.\u00a0 These electrodes are attached to a heart monitor will allow us to watch your heart rate and rhythm during the test.\u00a0 If you can exercise, you will be asked to walk on a treadmill.\u00a0 The test will start slowly and gradually.\u00a0 The speed and incline will increase gradually.\u00a0 You will be encouraged to exercise for as long as possible.\u00a0 Your heart rate and blood pressure will be monitored throughout the test.<\/p>\n
For both parts of the test, a nuclear medicine technologist will inject a small amount of radioactive medication (called radiotracer) into a vein in your arm.\u00a0 This medication contains a small amount of radioactivity which is not harmful.\u00a0 The radiotracer will travel to your heart muscle.\u00a0 You will be asked to lie very still on the examining table while a special nuclear camera (called a gamma camera) takes pictures of your heart.<\/p>\n
Preparation for the test<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Do not eat, drink, or smoke for 4 hours before the test.<\/li>\n
- No caffeine\/caffeine products 24 hours before the test (eg: coffee, tea, chocolate, coca cola etc)<\/li>\n
- Do not take the following medications for 48 hours before your test: beta blockers, nitrates, and non-dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers.\u00a0 Please check with your doctor.<\/em><\/li>\n
- Bring a list of your current medications.<\/li>\n
- Wear comfortable clothing and running shoes if you are doing an exercise nuclear test.<\/li>\n
- Present yourself at the Nuclear Medicine Department, main floor.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nuclear Cardiology A nuclear perfusion scan is ordered to look at how blood is flowing to your heart muscle.\u00a0 Two sets (rest and stress) of pictures are taken on 2 separate days.\u00a0 For the first part (rest part) of the test, a nuclear medicine technologist will take pictures of your heart in a resting state. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"parent":8398,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mc_calendar":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8483","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8483\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}