Normally the blood should be evenly distributed to the heart muscle both at rest and while exercising and the images will show this even distribution. The idea of nuclear stress testing is to create two images of how blood is being distributed to the cardiac muscle one during rest and one during exercise. A heart or cardiac ct scan is used to view your heart and blood vessels.
These scans use safe amounts of radiation to create detailed images which can help your doctor to detect any problems. Other names for a nuclear stress test include cardiac stress test myocardial perfusion imaging cardiac spect scan and thallium stress test. Patients can be stressed by physical exercise pharmacologically or a combination of both.
Images are taken using specialized cameras gamma or spect cameras and radioactive tracers. During this test you will walk on a treadmill for a short time while an electrocardiogram. These variations can identify patients who are at risk of developing ventricular arrhythmia that could lead to sudden cardiac arrest.
Nuclear cardiology mtwa measures beat to beat variations in the amplitude height of the t wave portion of the heartbeat. The tracer is injected into your blood and travels to your heart. A nuclear heart scan is an imaging test that uses special cameras and a radioactive substance called a tracer to create pictures of your heart.
Also known as nuclear stress test or radionuclide scan. Sep 19 2017 nuclear imaging has traditionally been used as a follow up imaging test to determine the severity of blockages on the function of the heart however computed tomography ct advanced visualization software can now perform perfusion imaging similar to a nuclear scan by mapping iodine contrast levels in the myocardium during the cardiac cycle. Doctors use cardiac pet scans to diagnose coronary artery disease cad and damage due to a heart attack.
It uses radioactive tracers called radionuclides to produce pictures of your heart. A pet scan of the heart is a noninvasive nuclear imaging test. Compared with an exercise stress test a nuclear stress test can help better determine your risk of a heart attack or other cardiac event if your doctor knows or suspects that you have coronary artery disease.
A nuclear stress test is one of several types of stress tests that may be performed alone or in combination.
Cardiology nuclear heart scan pictures. A nuclear heart scan is an imaging test that uses special cameras and a radioactive substance called a tracer to create pictures of your heart. The test can detect problems with blood flow in the heart tissue and can diagnose ischemic heart disease. It can also assess how well your heart pumps blood to your body. Actual scanning time for each heart scan varies from 15 to 30 minutes depending on the type of scanner used.
Total time in the nuclear medicine department will be approximately two to four hours. If the spect scanner has ct capabilities a short ct scan of your heart will be obtained.
If the spect scanner has ct capabilities a short ct scan of your heart will be obtained. Total time in the nuclear medicine department will be approximately two to four hours. Actual scanning time for each heart scan varies from 15 to 30 minutes depending on the type of scanner used.
It can also assess how well your heart pumps blood to your body. The test can detect problems with blood flow in the heart tissue and can diagnose ischemic heart disease. A nuclear heart scan is an imaging test that uses special cameras and a radioactive substance called a tracer to create pictures of your heart.
