Thallium stress test

Posted by Pat Ambro on July 28, 1999 at 09:55:16
I went to the doctor for heartburn.  Being a 54 year old woman, he immediately gave me a electrocardiogram.  He said that the test showed that I was not getting any blood to the front of my heart.  Faxed the results to a cardiologist and he told me to make an appointment.  From that I received a thallium stress test and ecocardiogram.  According to the cardiologist everything thing is great.  My question is... can a ekg show no blood going to the front of the heart and these tests show everything is ok?

Posted by CCF CARDIO MD - DLB on July 29, 1999 at 15:02:35
Dear Pat
The EKG can provide suggestive evidence of coronary artery disease, but an echo and thallium are much more precise. EKGs are somewhat useful as a screening tool for coronary artery disease, but sometimes they say there is a problem when in fact there is not.
I hope this has been useful. I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to write back.
Information provided here is for general purposes only. Specific questions should be addressed to your own doctor. If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.