Cardiac nuclear stress test

Hi Gang,
I go in for a nuclear stress test and scans, to see if I have free flowing heart arteries. From what I understand, the first day of a two day test, I will be getting a radioactive tracer and a scan at rest. Then the next day more tracer and exercise test and another scan, to see if blood is flowing well to all the important areas of my heart and lungs.
I have a bit of anxiety with this, due to my rheumatoid arthritis and the pain of trying to ride a exercise bike or treadmill. Also my left replaced knee is painful with exercise!
Wish me luck and Hope that I do not have any serious clogs in my arteries, or have a heart attack from this!
Itsme Wayne ... living with RA, Sjogren's, Raynaud's, T1 diabetes, asthma and allergies

2 Comments

Good luck

by TinaH - 2013-09-24 07:09:17

Hey Wayne,

I work for a cardiologist and we do those. You do not have to walk if you can't. They can give you Denison which will do the same as you walking on a treadmill. The only thing with the meds is it will give you a headache but it goes away quickly.

You will do great. Best of luck.

Tina

No Worries

by ebfox - 2013-09-24 12:09:38

Hi Wayne,

I have had a couple of these and they aren't bad at all. When they do the tracer on you, be prepared for a very warm feeling that will go from the tips of your toes to the top of your head. It is not uncomfortable at all, just very warm (if they use a different dye on you, the tech will tell you).

Regarding the exercise part; they want to get your heart rate up to a certain number based on your age. If you can't get it there due to pain or whatever reason, they can chemically raise the rate so that they can look at your intra-heart blood flow. If you are in pain, tell them, they are not there to torture you. The last one that I had last 10 minutes, it was not bad at all.

So good luck and here's to clear arteries...

E. B.

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