Anxious About Your Upcoming Nuclear Stress Test? Here's what to Expect

At West Houston Heart Center in Houston, Texas, Dr. Humayun Naqvi and his team provide preventative cardiology, including diagnostic tests like nuclear stress tests. If you’re having anxiety about an upcoming stress test, here’s what you should know about the procedure.

Nuclear stress test basics

Nuclear stress tests use a very small, safe amount of radioactive material known as a tracer and a small camera to identify blood flow patterns in the heart. We inject the radiotracer into your vein and use the camera to follow it as it works its way through your heart’s arteries while you’re exercising or taking a vasodilator. 

This is called single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and the imaging is typically referred to as a cardiac SPECT study. The result is a 3D image of your heart that can show damage to your heart (usually in the form of “cold spots”).

Reasons to get a nuclear stress test

A nuclear stress test can help us see heart issues that aren’t visible on other diagnostic tests like an electrocardiogram (EKG). For example, if your EKG shows an alarming heart arrhythmia, we’ll use a nuclear stress test to try and identify the cause. Likewise, this test can help us figure out what’s wrong if you’ve noticed symptoms possibly related to heart disease.

If you have any of the following symptoms, a nuclear stress test may be the fastest way to get an immediate picture of your heart and blood flow:

• Chest pain 
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Weakness

We also use stress tests to check for issues if you’ve previously been diagnosed with:

• Arrhythmia
• Coronary artery disease (CAD)
• Heart failure
• Heart attack

A nuclear stress test is a useful diagnostic and monitoring tool, and there’s no need to be anxious about an upcoming test.

What to expect from your upcoming nuclear stress test

Before you have your nuclear stress test, Dr. Naqvi will talk to you about what to expect and how to prepare. First, we use an IV to inject a small amount of the radioisotope (tracer) into your arm. 

Then you’ll lie on a table while we capture baseline images of your heart at rest. Next you’ll exercise on a treadmill or stationary bike (or take a special medication) to increase blood flow to your heart, and we’ll repeat the imaging. We can learn more about your heart function by comparing the images.

This is an outpatient test and only takes a few hours. You’ll be able to return home shortly afterward and shouldn’t have any side effects.

Do you need a nuclear stress test? Call us at 832-400-3957, or book your appointment online today.