Thallium and sestamibi stress tests

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Anterior heart arteries

Nuclear scan

Sestamibi and thallium stress tests; MIBI stress test

Thallium and sestamibi stress tests are nuclear imaging methods that provide a view of the blood flow into the heart muscle, both at rest and during activity.

These tests are also called MIBI stress test and myocardial perfusion scintigraphy.

This test is done at a medical center. You will be told to exercise as hard as you can on a treadmill or bicycle.

After reaching your maximum level of exercise, a health care provider will inject a radioactive material into a vein, usually either thallium or sestamibi. The material will travel in the bloodstream, through the coronary arteries, and into the heart muscle as you complete your exercise session.

Next, you will lie down on a table under a special camera that scans the heart and detects the radioactive material. A computer will look at how the material has collected and create pictures of the heart. The first pictures are made shortly after the exercise test, which shows blood flow to the heart during exercise. This part is called a "stress test" and is the most challenging for your heart.

After lying quietly for a few hours, you'll have more pictures of the heart taken. These images show blood flow through your heart during rest.

If your doctor does not think exercise is safe for you, or if you have joint problems that may make doing so difficult, you will be given a drug called a vasodilator that will make your heart feel as if you were exercising. This medicine widens normal blood vessels to the heart, which increases blood flow. Arteries with blockages will narrower, and therefore will receive less blood. After you receive this medicine, you will receive the radioactive material, as described above. The test done using a vasodilator can potentially show a heart problem in the same way as the exercise test.

You will be instructed to wear comfortable clothes and shoes with non-skid soles. You will probably be asked not to eat or drink anything after midnight, except for a few sips of water if you need to take medicines.