Myocardial Perfusion using Pharmacological Stress

Information for our Nuclear Medicine Patients

* Inform your physician if you are pregnant or breast feeding.

 

Overview

The distribution of blood flow to the myocardium is evaluated with this test.

Indications

Suspicion of coronary artery disease

Evaluation of chest pain

Evaluation of myocardial perfusion abnormalities before and after therapy

Detection of hibernating myocardium

Myocardial Perfusion using Pharmacological Stress

A Myocardial Perfusion Pharmacological Stress 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 next to a special detector called a gamma camera. The camera does not produce any radiation. It will be placed close to the part of your body being imaged.

(Myocardial Perfusion Images)

Patient Preparation

You cannot eat or drink for 4-6 hours before the study. Since caffeine inactivates Adenosine/Persantine, it is important that you not consume any product containing caffeine, such as decaffeinated coffee, tea, excedrin, certain caffeine-containing soft drinks, etc. for 12 hours prior to the test. Informed consent will be obtained.

You should be off Theophylline medications 36-48 hours prior to the test.

Procedure

A small amount of radioactive material will be injected into a vein in your arm to provide images of your heart both at rest and following the administration of Adenosine/Persantine. The test will be supervised by a physician. The images of the heart that determine blood flow to the heart (myocardial perfusion) will be taken at rest and again following the Adenosine/Persantine. For the imaging procedure, you will lie under a camera for 15-35 minutes. The images are subjected to computer analysis and provide three dimensional information concerning the blood flow to the heart muscle at rest and during stress.

The entire procedure takes approximately 3-4 hours. In some cases, a separate set of images 4 or 24 hours later may be necessary.

Further Information

Contact Terre Haute Medical Laboratory Nuclear Medicine at 812.238.7542