Myocardial Perfusion using Exercise or Pharmacological Stress
* Inform your physician if you are pregnant or breast feeding.
You have been scheduled for a Myocardial Perfusion Pharmacological or Exercise Stress study which involves the use of a small amount of radioactive material. The level of radioactivity used is extremely low and has no side effects.
You will be positioned on an imaging table, under a special detector called a gamma camera. The camera does not produce any radiation. It will be placed close to your chest and rotate around you. You will also receive a CT scan as part of the imaging procedure.
Patient Preparation
You cannot eat for 4 hours before the study. You may have water and clear liquids up to your appointment time. Since caffeine inactivates adenosine/dipyridamole, it is important that you not consume any product containing caffeine, such as decaffeinated coffee, tea, excedrin, certain caffeine-containing soft drinks, etc. for 24 hours prior to the test. Informed consent will be obtained. Do not take any beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers the day of the exam. Bring them to the test with you.
Procedure
You will be given a stress test either on a treadmill or by use of medications. You will be supervised by an exercise physiologist and monitored throughout the stress test. A small amount of a radioactive material will be injected into an I.V. catheter placed in your arm. Following the stress test, painless images will be taken 10 minutes-2 hours later. You will be asked to place your arms above your head for the images. This will take approximately 25 minutes. You will then be asked to wait while your images are processed and evaluated by a cardiologist. A second injection of a radioactive material is then administered into the I.V. catheter while you are resting. Images are then taken 30-60 minutes following that injection. They will take about 25 minutes. You will be allowed to eat at anytime after your stress test is complete. Plan to be in our department for 3-6 hours.
Reviewed and Approved:
Kirk Frey, MD
Robert Ackermann
11/2011
