Doing this tomorrow morning A Myocardial Perfusion Scan (also known as a Sestamibi Scan) is a test which examines the blood supply to the heart muscle (myocardium) non-invasively. It is used to diagnose and to assess the severity of reduced blood supply to the heart due to blocked arteries. The scan is divided into 2 parts. The 1st part looks at your heart muscle at rest, and the 2nd part looks at your heart muscle after a stress test (the stress test is an exercise that will either be walking on a treadmill machine or using a drug called Persantin). The Procedure 1st part – Rest A small cannula is inserted into a vein in your arm and a radioactive isotope (Sestamibi) is injected. After 45 minutes, we take pictures of your heart on a special camera. The pictures will take about 15 minutes. We need you to stay very still and breathe normally. 2nd part- Stress After the first part, a stress test is performed either by walking on a treadmill, or by using a medication called Persantin injected through the cannula. Persantin is a chemical generally used to exercise patients when they are unable to walk on the treadmill. During the stress test, your pulse rate and blood pressure will be recorded. You will be monitored closely with ECG leads attached to your body. Just before the end of the exercise, a second dose of the radioactive isotope (Sestamibi) is injected. After the end of the exercise, we ask you to wait for 30-45 minutes and a second set of pictures are then taken.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 09:03:08 +0000