Nuclear stress test

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Nuclear scan

Sestamibi stress test; MIBI stress test; Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy; Dobutamine stress test; Persantine stress test; Thallium stress test; Stress test - nuclear

Thallium stress test is a nuclear imaging method that shows how well blood flows into the heart muscle, both at rest and during activity.

This test is done at a medical or outpatient center. The test is done in two parts:

Part 1: Stressing the heart:

• Most people will walk on a treadmill (or pedal on an exercise machine).
• Gradually you will be asked to walk (or pedal) faster and on an incline.
• If you are not able to exercise, your doctor may give you a medicine called that will make your heart beat faster and harder, similar to when you exercise.
• Your blood pressure and heart rhythm (ECG) will be watched (monitored) the whole time.

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Part 2: The health care provider will inject a radioactive substance into one of your veins and then take pictures of your heart.

• The radioactive material may be thallium or sestamibi. These substances travel through your bloodstream to the arteries of your heart, then into the heart muscle.
• Next, you will be asked to lie down on a table or sit in a special chair. A computer creates pictures of your heart by tracking the radioactive material present in your heart. These images show how blood flows to your heart during exercise.

After the first set of pictures are taken, you will be allowed to get up from the table or chair for a period of time.

You will be asked to return anywhere between 1 and 4 hours later for a second set of images.

Your doctor will compare the amount of thallium or sestamibi present in areas of your heart between the first and second set of images. This can help your doctor tell if you have heart disease or if your heart disease is becoming worse.

If your study takes more than an hour, you will usually be allowed to have a caffeine-free lunch or a snack at a nearby cafeteria.

You should wear comfortable clothes and shoes with nonskid soles. You will probably be asked not to eat or drink anything after midnight, except for a few sips of water if you need to take medicines.