After years of smoking, fast food, and truck loads of alchohol at only age 36. (with plenty of excercise in between though) I have decided to get this cardiac perfusion test done. But this is what freaks me out.
This "nuclear tracer" they inject into your bloodstream introvenously that swirls around for a couple of hours so they can trace where it goes.
My question is.. how the heck do they get it out? Does it come out? And I really don't feel like putting something nuclear into my body. Although I've been doing it for years with processed food and ciggarettes lol :)
Has anyone had any adverse effects from this.. short term or long term?
How do they get that Nuclear tracer out of you? And if they do get it out of you.. how do they KNOW FOR SURE, that it is OUT of you??
2006-08-08 11:34:27 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Heart Diseases
Yes, I had it. That is what showed my heart attack actually. Everything else missed it. The tracer wears off.
The persantine is what killed me. All my vessels clamped down and my chest pain came back with a vengence. Jerks refused to reverse it and left me with a killer migraine that ended up needing to be treated in the ER.
No long term effects from the test.
2006-08-11 16:09:38 · answer #1 · answered by hello 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two types of tracer substance are used; Thalium-201 (a potassium analogue) and Technitium-99 based agent which is more advanced as regards improved imaging characteristics are used to assess myocardial perfusion and left ventricular performance in the same study.
A patient undergoing a nuclear medicine procedure will receive a radiation dose. Under present international guidelines it is assumed that any radiation dose, however small, presents a risk. Radioisotopes such as thallium 201 should not be administered during pregnancy because they may be harmful to the fetus.
The radiation doses delivered to a patient in a nuclear medicine investigation present a very small risk of inducing cancer and is a common procedure. Afterwards the patient is free to return to his or her normal daily activities. Thallium is primarily eliminated through excretion into the feces (51.4%) and the urine (26.4%).
2006-08-08 20:04:40 · answer #2 · answered by GVD 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had this test 2 years ago and it is done in two parts. First pics of your heart are made at rest. Next you get an injection of radio active tracer while they scan your heart while you are exercising, if you are not fit enough to exercise then you are given another injection that loads your heart to simulate exercise . that injection is uncomfortable but they have an antidote ready to give you if it gets too uncomfortable. The radiation leaves you after a few hours so don`t worry at all. All in all it`s a breeze .I was 70yrs.
2006-08-11 06:43:32 · answer #3 · answered by Realist 2006 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The amount of radiation for this entire test is less than a patient receives for a standard chest xray. No worries, except about your lifestyle. Getting the test is the first step---much more important will be modifying your lifestyle so that you can live a long and healthy life. Check out americanheart.org for tips from the AHA on a healthy lifestyle. Good luck.
2006-08-08 21:54:40 · answer #4 · answered by Amy P 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋