Day of Procedure
Your physician has scheduled you for a Nuclear Stress Test at UMC. You will need to arrive one hour prior to your scheduled time. It is very important that you have had nothing to eat or drink after midnight and that you have had no caffeine for a 24-hour period before your test. This includes any over–the-counter drugs such as Excedrin, Anacin & BC Powder. It is strongly recommended that you wear comfortable walking shoes and loose fitting clothes. When you arrive at the Outpatient Center, you will sign in at the front desk to await registration. Once you are registered, you will be escorted to the Heart Center where a team member will interview you to obtain your medical history. Please be sure to bring with you a complete list of all medications, prescription and over-the-counter, that you are currently taking. Be sure to include the dosage of the medication(s) and how often you take each one.
Procedure
You will be taken to a private area where your medical history can be reviewed and consent signed. DO NOT BE ALARMED IF YOU ARE ASKED SIMILAR QUESTIONS by different staff on several occasions. This is used as a safety check before your procedure. It will be necessary to have an IV started at this time. A small amount of radioactive material will be injected into the IV, of which you should feel no effect. After 10-15 minutes, you will be placed on the Nuclear Medicine scanner to obtain images of your heart and then immediately following you will be escorted to the Stress Room next door. A team member will place electrodes on your chest and a blood pressure cuff on your arm. The goal of the test is for you to walk on a treadmill until you reach your target heart rate; which is calculated by your age and weight. The treadmill will go slow at first and then incline and speed up every 3 minutes. Once you have reached your target, you will receive another injection of radioactive material. You will walk for 1 additional minute and then slowed to a stop and then monitored for 2-3 more minutes. There will then be a 30-minute wait, during which time you will be offered a drink and snack. After this waiting period you will be placed back on the Nuclear Medicine scanner where more images will be obtained of your heart. After approximately 15 minutes and the images have been checked, the IV will be removed and you will be free to go.
Post- Procedure
There are no specific instructions or restrictions following this procedure.