The nurse will help you with them after you are awake. You will not be allowed to eat or drink until the medicine used to numb your throat wears off. This usually takes 30 to 60 minutes. You may not drive yourself home after your test.
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Come what may, how long are you on the treadmill for a nuclear stress test?
During a stress test: Your entire stress test, including the prep time, would take about 45 minutes to an hour. The actual test takes only around 15-20 minutes. The patient would have to walk on a treadmill or pedal a stationary bicycle.
Although, is a nuclear stress test painful? The nuclear scanning machine never touches you and taking the images is not painful. Your positioning on the table should be comfortable. Tell your care team if you are uncomfortable or if you are having trouble breathing. The exercise and stress test portion of the test should also be painless.
Likewise, how long does a nuclear stress test take without exercise?
The test can be done while the patient is resting or doing exercise. The radioactive substance that is injected into the patient is called a radionuclide. The test takes about 3 to 4 hours.
How will I feel after a nuclear stress test?
It is normal to feel short of breath, pressure in head chest or belly. The side effects go away within a couple of minutes. We can also give you a reversal medication, if needed, to take away the side effects. You will receive a second injection of the tracer so we can see the stress blood flow to your heart muscle.
24 Related Questions Answered
A stress test usually takes about an hour, including both prep time and the time it takes to do the actual test. The actual exercise test takes only around 15 minutes.
You may be asked not to eat, drink or smoke for a period of time before a nuclear stress test. You may need to avoid caffeine the day before and the day of the test.
The nuclear imaging agent is out of your system within 60 hours, but it is always decaying so it becomes minimal in a relatively short period of time.
Friends/family are welcome to accompany you to the office but are not allowed in the testing area due to our privacy policy. Allow approximately 90 minutes for the test. Test results will be communicated to you by your physician.
Stress tests can detect when arteries have 70% or more blockage. This severe narrowing is what causes the severe chest pain called angina. But normal results from a stress test do not rule out the possibility of a future heart attack. This is because a plaque can still rupture, form clots and block an artery.
The test can show the size of the heart's chambers, how well the heart is pumping blood, and whether the heart has any damaged or dead muscle. Nuclear stress tests can also give doctors information about your arteries and whether they might be narrowed or blocked because of coronary artery disease.
What Abnormal Results Mean. Abnormal results may be due to: Reduced blood flow to a part of the heart. The most likely cause is a narrowing or blockage of one or more of the arteries that supply your heart muscle. Scarring of the heart muscle due to a previous heart attack.
Why do I need this test? This test checks how well blood flows through your heart. You will come to the clinic on two days. Each visit will last about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Diarrhea and fecal incontinence have also been reported following LEXISCAN administration.
What HAPPENS IF I FAIL THE STRESS TEST? The short answer is, nothing happens. It is fairly common for some people to not be able to exercise enough to get their heart to work hard enough. When this happens, it is impossible for us to accurately assess the patients' functional capacity.
You are usually notified of the results within 24 hours. If the test is normal, your family doctor will advise follow-up care to determine what else may be causing your discomforts. Depending on how serious these abnormalities are, you may need to see a cardiologist the same day.
Test Preparation Please wear the appropriate clothing and not wear dresses, skirts, one piece outfits, stirrup pants, panty hose, girdles, or tights. Do not use any creams, lotions, oils, or powders on your body for 48 hours prior to your appointment.
Yes. However, DO NOT eat or drink anything for 4 hours before the test. If you must take medications, drink only small sips of water to help you swallow your pills. Avoid all products containing caffeine for 24 hours before the test.
The average walking time is 6 to 9 minutes. The test may be stopped if you develop abnormal ECG changes, if you are too tired to continue, if you develop significant symptoms or if you have reached your peak heart rate.
Wear loose, comfortable clothing that is suitable for exercise. Men usually don't wear a shirt during the test, and women generally wear a bra and a lightweight blouse or a hospital gown. You should also wear comfortable walking shoes or sneakers.
Should I be around people or pets after my cardiac nuclear stress test? When your cardiac stress test is complete, you will not have any limitations of who you can or cannot be around. The amount of radioactive material that is injected to your body is so small that it poses no risk to anyone around you.
The nuclear stress test is generally considered to be the most accurate type of stress test. It has a sensitivity of about 81%, meaning that it will miss about 19% of high-grade blockages.
In general, caffeine is found in coffee, tea, colas and other soft drinks, most chocolate products, as caffeine will interfere with the results of the test. Also avoid decaffeinated or caffeine-free products for 24 hours before the test, as these product contain trace amounts of caffeine.
Normal systolic and diastolic responses to exercise stress testing should not exceed 220 and 100 mm Hg, respectively. Systolic blood pressure of >230 mm Hg is generally considered hazardous.
Despite the short half-life of adenosine, 10.6% of the side effects occurred not with the infusion of Adenoscan but several hours after the infusion terminated. Also, 8.4% of the side effects that began coincident with the infusion persisted for up to 24 hours after the infusion was complete.
Preparation can vary but may include:
No eating or drinking for 6 hours before the study.No caffeine for 6 hours before the study.No smoking the morning of the test or during imaging.You may need to stop taking certain stomach and narcotic medications 2 days before the study.
Are there side effects to nuclear medicine exams? Very few people experience side effects from a nuclear medicine exam. Allergic reactions are extremely rare. Any adverse reactions are usually mild, pass quickly, and need little or no medical treatment.
You will be in the test room for about 30 minutes. What should you wear? Wear or bring clothes that you can exercise in such as: running or walking shoes, shorts or light pants, trousers, or slacks.
It can also temporarily lower your blood pressure. In other words, if you take Xanax before getting your blood pressure tested, your reading might be lower than usual.