has anyone had a nuclear thallium stress test? help

[wmac]

Has anyone had a nuclear thallium stress test? Can you please give me info about it and and is it bad or what?? Im having one tuesday and im kinda freaking out!! Very nervous.

[Artaud]

Hi,

Sounds worse than it is. I had a Thallium Stress Test years ago and a Cardiolite Stress Test within the last two years.

It's similar to a regular stress test, in that you are monitored with an EKG, do the Treadmill Test to exert your heart as they monitor the EKG. The difference is that when you are within about 1 minute of believing that you can no longer keep going on the Stress Test Treadmill, they inject you with a substance that will show up on a on a CT type imaging device. (I felt nothing during the injection) You will then be slowly taken off the Treadmill and taken to the area where the imaging (CT) device is located. After they image you the first time, you need to wait at the hospital for a few hours, and you will be imaged again (without the Stress Test the second time, they'll just take more images with you at rest). This way they can compare the difference between the blood flow to your heart under exertion and at rest.

I usually last 5 to 7 minutes on the Stress Test. During the Stress Test, they will also monitor your Blood Pressure and record the results.

Be healthy.

[wmac]

Did you have any problems with the dye stuff that is what is freaking me out.

[wmac]

No I havent had any problems with dye. I had a idodine dye once for kidney stones. I was fine. I just freak about things like that.
Im a negative person. Unfortantaly.....:(
I just wonder though if the radioactive dye can cause some major symptoms while doing the test it just makes me nervous. My son in law mother had it done and she said she couldnt breath at all.
So I dont know im just a bit nervous is all.

[va_tony]

I've also had a thallium nuclear test and had no problems with it.  It's as Artaud says---  a treadmill stress test that also piggybacks a CT scan of your coronary arteries (and an echocardiogram). The dye was no problem at all.  A more detailed description of the procedure is found at

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4743

There is really no reason to be worried about it.  In my case, the nuke test showed some blockage and so I later had a follow-up 64-slice CT-A to better quantify the blockage.  While I would have preferred to have clear arteries, it was far better for me to know the extent of my blockage ( 3 blocks of about 30%).  Knowledge is power.  As a result of the tests, I can take corrective actions (losing weight, diet change, meds, etc) to minimize my chances of a heart attack in the future. I immediately went on a statin and my cholesterol dropped from 220 to 141.

Go for it!

[wmac]

They always talk about the good cholestrol and the normal for women is 40-60 and my hdl is 80
so i would think that i should be ok as far as blockages. Wouldnt you?

[Ihatepalps2]

I have had one...kinda different than others here...I went in about 2 hours before the stress test....they injected me with the dye. I went home...for an hour...( to let the dye get into my system) then I came back, walked on the treadmill, and immediatly laid down on the scanner--that took about 40 minutes of laying perfectly still ( the hardest part of the whole thing for me..l very fidgety!) otherwise it was just like a regular stress test. Not bad at all.

[Momto3]

Hope your test went well.  

[wmac]

Had my test all went well. No blockages. thats good. they said it all was fine.
Not a bad thing at all.
thanks everyone

[caregiver222]

It's a good test with lots of benefits and little risk. Don't be overly concerned.

[ajrenalli]

SEE???  You only had fear to fear.