What Can I Expect During a Nuclear Heart Scan?

Nuclear stress testing uses special technology to obtain clear images of your heart and the vessels that surround it. It might sound a little nerve-wracking, but the test itself is simple. Here’s what to expect.

There’s no denying that the words “nuclear” and “stress” tend to drum up feelings of anxiety and stress on their own. When combined, it’s easy to get confused — and a little nervous — about what nuclear stress testing involves.

The good news: Nuclear stress testing is actually a straightforward — and very safe — type of imaging test that provides us with a lot of important information about your heart and how well it’s functioning. In this post, John Terzian, MD, FACC, and the team at Bridgewater Primary Care & Cardiology, LLC, offer a quick overview of nuclear stress testing, including why it’s done and what to expect during your test.

Nuclear stress testing: The basics

First of all, the word nuclear refers to the special solution that’s injected during the test. This solution contains a small amount of a tracer agent that’s mildly radioactive, making it easier to track during your test and improving the clarity of the images that are produced.

The word “stress” in the test name refers to physical stress, not emotional stress. Specifically, it refers to the stress you experience during a brief period of exercise used during the test, simply to see how well your heart responds to physical exertion.

Nuclear stress tests provide a significant amount of detailed information about your heart health. These tests are routinely prescribed to:

Determine the cause of symptoms, like chest pain or shortness of breath
Monitor health in people with diagnosed heart disease
Evaluate the effectiveness of treatments
Assess the heart and surrounding blood flow following medical procedures, like stent placement

The tracer agent highlights areas where blood flow is blocked or where the heart itself may be damaged, and it also shows how well the heart reacts during rest and exertion.

What to expect during your test

For a portion of your stress test, you’ll walk on a treadmill, so wear comfortable shoes and comfortable, loose clothing. Before we start your test, we place electrodes on your chest and other areas to monitor your heart’s electrical activity throughout your visit.

Next, we place an IV in your arm. The IV is used to deliver the tracer agent. You’ll lie back on an exam table while we take initial images of your heart at rest. These images are compared to the images we'll take later, once you’ve exercised for a brief period of time.

Once those initial images are captured, you’ll walk on a treadmill until your heart reaches a target rate. If you’re unable to exercise, we can safely inject a medication to increase your heart rate. Finally, we administer an additional tracer material, then take that second set of images for comparison.

Once those images are complete, you’ll relax for a brief period before being sent home. There's no recovery period afterward, but you should drink plenty of water to help flush the tracer out of your body. When we have the final results of your test, we’ll contact you to discuss them and map out the next course of treatment, if any.

Staying on top of heart health

Like the rest of your health, your heart health can change significantly over time. Nuclear stress testing is a state-of-the-art way to monitor your heart and make sure your treatment stays on track with your evolving needs.

To find out more about stress testing or to schedule a heart health evaluation, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Bridgewater Primary Care & Cardiology in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, today.