Hello and thank you for choosing
Cedars-Sinai. Your doctor has ordered a
nuclear medicine stress test for you.
This video will let you know what to
expect and how to get ready for your
exam. The nuclear medicine stress test
shows how well your heart works during
physical activity. It also can measure
blood flow to the heart as well as show
if the heart has been damaged. There are
a few things you will need to do to get
ready for the test.
First, you will not be able to eat for
three hours before the exam. Second, you
will not be able to have anything
containing caffeine such as coffee tea
or chocolate for 24 hours before the
test. Please be aware that decaffeinated
products contain small amounts of
caffeine so you cannot drink
decaffeinated coffee either. Your stress
test will be done at the taper imaging
department here at Cedars-Sinai. A
transporter will come to your room to
take you to imaging. If you can you
should go to the restroom before you
leave your room. Any devices used for
your care such as an IV, heart monitor,
and oxygen will either be supplied or be
brought with you. A family member or a
friend can come with you but must stay
in the imaging waiting area until your
exam is done. The transporter will check
you in at the pre-scan area. For your
safety, you will be asked the same
questions a few times by different
members of the imaging staff. Patients
with heart monitors will still be
monitored. We will give you a call light
in case you need help. We do many types
of scans and imaging and you may see
people come after you and leave before
you. Don't worry we didn't forget about
you, these patients may be having an
imaging procedure that is different from
yours or it may be an emergency
situation. We will do our best to keep
you from waiting but delays can happen.
A member of the imaging staff will move
you to your exam room when it's time
your test. Your cardiac imaging team
will explain your exam to you and you
will be asked medical questions about
your health and your heart history. If
you don't already have an intravenous
line, called an IV, it will be put in one
of your arms. There are three parts to
this test. Part one is a stress test
which takes about an hour total. A
nuclear staff member will place EKG
leads on your chest to monitor your
heart. Then, you will either walk slowly
on a treadmill or take medicine to
increase the blood flow to your heart
you will be monitored at all times by
nuclear medicine staff members. Next to
look at your heart a radioactive tracer
will be injected through your IV. The
radioactivity you're exposed to during
these tests is very low and will not
hurt you and the information that test
gives your doctor far outweighs this
small exposure to radiation. After the
stress test and a waiting period, you
will be ready for part 2. During part 2, a
special camera will be positioned very
close to your chest and will take
pictures of your heart this takes about
45 minutes. Part 3 of the test will look
at your heart at rest. A second dose of
radioactive tracer will be injected and
another set of pictures will be taken of
your heart, this takes about 30 minutes.
In between each part of the test there
will be a waiting period, it will take
about four hours to complete all three
parts of the study. Normal responses
during testing include shortness of
breath, sweating, and feeling tired. Your
safety is important to us and you will
be monitored at all times by nuclear
medicine staff members. The tests will be
stopped or changed if it is unsafe for
you to continue. When your exam is
complete your technologist will not be
able to give you the results your exam
must first be read by a specialized
cardiologist within the next day. The
information will then be sent to your
doctor who will talk to you about the
results.
After your exam, you will be moved to the
post game area before the transporter
takes you back to your room.
We hope this video has been helpful to
you. If you have any other questions
please ask a member of the imaging team.
Thanks for watching
