Cardiac Perfusion Scan

Cardiolite Stress Test, Myocardial Perfusion Scintigraphy, Nonexercise stress test, Nuclear Stress Test, Thallium Scan, Thallium/Technetium (Sestamibi) Cardiac Scan

How It Feels

The cardiac scanning test itself is painless.

• You may feel a brief stinging or burning sensation when the needle is inserted into the vein in your arm.
• You may be uncomfortable lying still for an extended period of time on the table during the scans.
• If medicine to stress your heart is used, you may have symptoms of mild nausea, headache, dizziness, flushing, or chest pain (angina). These symptoms only last a few minutes.
• If you are asked to exercise, you may have chest pain, breathlessness, lightheadedness, aching in your leg muscles, and fatigue. Report these to the technician. If the symptoms are severe, the exercise part of the test may be stopped.

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Author:	Robin Parks, MS	Last Updated: December 24, 2007
Medical Review:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology
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