Are you having testing or treatment performed at our offices? To learn more about what you are going to have done, find the test and click on the link. Here you will learn how to prepare for your test, what medications you should not take before your test and what to expect.
Cardiac nuclear perfusion stress tests, sometimes called nuclear stress tests, come in two varieties: Exercise Nuclear Perfusion Stress Tests and Pharmacological Nuclear Perfusion Stress Tests. Both are ways of checking blood flow through the muscle (or walls) of your heart. A tracer dye is given to you through an IV inserted in your arm. A camera scans the tracer in the blood as it flows through your heart muscle.
A nuclear perfusion stress test checks to see how blood flows through your heart muscle. A tracer is injected through an IV and a camera scans the tracer in the blood as it flows through the heart muscle before and after you exercise on a treadmill. This is called an Exercise Nuclear Perfusion Stress test. If you are unable to exercise on a treadmill, a drug is used to substitute for exercise. This is called a Pharmacological Nuclear Perfusion Stress test.
You will first have scanning pictures taken while you rest.
To increase your heart rate will get your heart you will exercise on a treadmill for several minutes or if you are unable to exercise on a treadmill you will be given a medication.
When the exercise is over, you will have a second set of pictures taken.
Ask when you may eat and if you should take any medicine you were told to skip. Report any symptoms you feel like chest pain, shortness of breath and dizziness. The tracer leaves your body within hours.
If you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to contact our nuclear center.
48 HOURS NOTICE is required for all cancellations; otherwise you will be charged a cancellation fee and the cost of the isotopes ordered specifically for your test. In the event you fail to follow instructions, your test may be cancelled and fees applied.
Written orders/prescription for this test is required prior to performing all testing. If your insurance requires a referral, please obtain one from your primary care physician. All may be faxed to 571.323.3980 (Reston office) or 703.641.0383 (Fairfax office).
An echocardiogram is an imaging test that uses harmless sound waves. It shows how well your heart muscle is working, as well as how large your heart is. The sound waves are used like an ultrasound and are viewed on a monitor. Please click here for details
A stress echocardiogram is like the echocardiogram described above except that the testing is done both before and after exercising in order to detect changes in the way your heart responds to exertion.
An echocardiogram, sometimes called an “echo,” is an imaging test that uses the echoes of sound waves that are bounced off your heart to create a moving picture of your moving heart, its muscles and valves. It shows how well your heart is working, as well as how large your heart is.
A small hand-held device called a transducer is used to transmit and receive the sound waves and echoes that take the pictures of your heart. Special equipment changes the echoes into images of your heart that are seen on a monitor. These images help the doctor evaluate your heart.
An echo is very safe and painless. In fact, echocardiograms are very similar to the imaging technique called sonograms or ultrasounds used with pregnant women to monitor the developing fetus while still in the womb.
It is best to avoid eating within two hours prior to the test. Make sure you wear a two-piece outfit, you may need to undress from the waist up and put on a gown. Although the test itself takes less than 45 minutes, you should allow extra time to check in.
For this test, which is a non-stress echocardiogram, you may take your normal medications before the test.
Small electrodes are placed on your chest to monitor your heartbeat. A transducer coated with warm gel is moved firmly over your chest. This device creates the sound waves that make the images of your heart. At times, you may be asked to exhale and hold your breath for a few seconds. Air in your lungs can affect the images. The images of your heart are recorded on a CD so your doctor can review them.
An exercise treadmill stress test is an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) conducted while walking on a treadmill to measure the heart’s response to the stress of physical activity.
It is an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) conducted while walking on a treadmill to measure the heart’s response to the stress of physical activity. Your blood pressure and heart rhythm are monitored during the test as well. The results aid in the detection of the disease which causes heart attacks, determination of cardiovascular fitness, and the safety of an exercise program. The test can show if there’s a lack of blood supply through the arteries that go to your heart.
Don’t eat, drink, smoke, or have any caffeine for 3 hours before your test. Make sure you wear a two-piece outfit and walking shoes, you may need to undress from the waist up and put on a gown.
You are hooked up to equipment to monitor your heart. You walk slowly in place on the treadmill. The treadmill will tilt so you feel like you are going up a small hill. It changes speeds to make you walk faster in order to increase your heart rate. The test is over when you reach your maximum heart rate or you feel you need to complete the test.
After slowing down for a few minutes, you will sit down and your heart rate and blood pressure will be monitored.
Be sure to tell the doctor if you feel any of the following during the test:
As soon as the test is over, you may eat and return to your normal routine.
EECP is a non-surgical, mechanical procedure that can reduce the symptoms of angina pectoris, by increasing coronary blood flow in areas of the heart that lack blood flow.
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