Thallium and sestamibi stress tests

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Anterior heart arteries

Nuclear scan

For one entire day prior to the test, you will be required to abstain from caffeine and certain medications. Caffeine is in food and beverages such as all regular and decaffeinated coffees or teas, chocolate products, many sodas, and certain pain relievers. These are just a few examples. Please read the labels of your food and beverages carefully, because caffeine consumed before the test may invalidate the test results.

Medications that you may need to stop taking before the test include some asthma medicines and medicines for chest pain (angina); check with your doctor. If you take insulin to control your blood sugar, ask your physician if or how much insulin you should take the day of the test.

The entire nuclear imaging test may last about 4 hours, so you will need to prepare accordingly. At some point during your stay for the test you will likely be given a long break and be allowed to have lunch or a snack at a nearby cafeteria. During the test you will not be sedated and therefore once the test is completed you will be able to drive yourself home.

You may feel the same symptoms as with a regular stress test or with a session of strenuous exercise: fatigue, muscle cramps in your legs or feet, some shortness of breath, or chest pain.

If you will not be exercising but will be receiving a vasodilator injection, you may feel a sting as the medication goes into the IV, which may be followed by a feeling of warmth. Some patients also develop a headache or nausea.

If any of the symptoms listed above appear during your test, let the lab personnel know immediately.

The thallium and sestamibi stress tests are indicated when your doctor needs to evaluate for example:

• how well your heart responds to exercise
• the cause of your chest pains
• the degree of blockage in your coronary arteries
• what to expect after you have had a heart attack
• how well a heart procedure done to improve blood flow in your coronary arteries is working

Review Date: 01/24/2007
Reviewed By: Stuart Bentley-Hibbert, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.