stress test versus thallium stress test

stress test versus thallium stress test

[kenkeith]

Thallium stress test proceeds when the individuals  reaches his or her maximum level of exercise, and then a small amount of a radioactive substance called thallium is injected into the bloodstream. Then the individual  lies down on a special table under a camera  that can see the thallium and make pictures. The thallium mixes with the blood in the bloodstream and heart's arteries and enters heart muscle cells. If a part of the heart muscle doesn't receive a normal blood supply, less than a normal amount of thallium will be in those heart muscle cells.
  
  
A stress test, sometimes called a treadmill test or exercise test, helps a doctor find out how well your heart handles work. As your body works harder during the test, it requires more oxygen, so the heart must pump more blood. The test can show if the blood supply is reduced in the arteries that supply the heart. It also helps doctors know the kind and level of exercise appropriate for a patient.  Post cardiac patients can be stress tested to determine the the degree of exercise appropriate and measured in METs which would be the reference.