Cardiolite Stress Test

[bengal lady]

I am a 42 y/o female who was diagnosed in May with gastritis and placed on Prilosec.  I was having indigestion type pain that seemed to make my whole upper body ache.  My doctor did an EKG on me and said it looked fine and that is when he placed me on the prilosec.  A couple of weeks ago, I was having the discomfort and since I work at a hospital I had one of the EKG techs do a EKG on me.  It showed Nonspecific Anterolateral T abnormalities and said T neg, T/QRS ratio<.07 I,L,V2-V6.  An hour later after I had no more pain I had another one done that read normal EKG.  A doctor that I work with said that he wouldnt worry about it but that maybe I should get a cardiolite stress test done for peace of mind.  I guess what I want to ask is if the nonspecific changes sound significant and if a stress if warrented?  Are there any side effects to the dye that they use? If it is just for peace of mind should I have it done?  The only risk factor that I had was smoking and I recently gave that up.  I dont have high blood pressure or any other problems and my cholesterol was 179 with HDL 70.  Thank you for your opinion and your time.

[rlatkin]

A related discussion, Ventricular Tachacardia was started.

[cathypan]

A related discussion, nuclear stress test was started.

[Raymond wong]

I am a boy

[George]

I recently had a cardiac stress test.  It went two days with an injection of Cardiolite both days.  The tech said that the dose was 30 millicuries and the material had an effective half life of 4 hours counting decay and filtering by my kidneys.  How much of a dose did I get in milliREM?

- gws

[suzanne bauer]

I am a 38 yr old female, I am a RN.  I weigh 270 lbs 5'71/2'', family history is significant for diabetes, HTN, CAD, MI, my cholesterol is elevated, I have a problem with tachycardia & am on lopressor 50 mg po qd.  I also have thyroid nodules which have been tested and are said to be benign.  had thyroid functions run in august and have been normal.  lately i have been experiencing a day or two where i cannont sleep, & I am tachy.  these days seam to by cyclic, meaning they have occured more than once. but at this point I can't pinpoint them as to when in my "cycle" they occur.  I had an ekg done today at the dr office.  I have nonspecific st wave changes with elevations.  the dr has prescribed a cardiolyte stress test.  My question is ..is the cardiolyte just a dye?  or does it have an affect on the heart as far as stressing it?  If you could point me in the direction of an article where i could learn more on this I would appreciate it.  I think a stress test is warrented.  I have had chest pain on more than one occasion with radiation into my left arm.  I just want a clearer understanding as to why he suggests a cardiolyte test as opposed to a "plain" stress test.  

Thank you kindly

suzanne r. bauer RN

[Marge O]

I have had two mi's. Extensive testing showed I have extreme coronary spasms and hypercoagulation. I am again experiencing occasional chest pain. Would a cardiolite stress test be recommended?

[nancy]

Dear Doctor,

I have been having small chest pains in my chest. I have been under severe stress for about 6 months. My chest gets very tight and it is hard to breath. My doctor said the EKG came out normal and my cardiologist said he doesn't think I have a blocked artery. They want me go have a Cardiolite stress test. What do you think this might be and is it normal to be short of breath while under stress. I also have very high chronic anziety.
Than you for your time.

[Walt Kaban]

I am scheduled for a nuclear cardiolite stress test. I have only one concern, and that is the composition of the intravenous dye used in the test. Does it contain iodine, or an iodine compound? I am very allergic to iodine.

[yvonne]

I am a diabetic on insulin, 47 years old, overweight and have
fluttering in my chest after walking up a flight of stairs.  My doctor says I might have some blockage in a vessel in my neck.  He wants to do a cardiolyte stress test.  What will it show?
What do you think?

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Sounds more GI than cardiac to me.

[DENISE]

Addendum-  Dear Doctor,  I forgot to mention in my message above that I also wake up early in the morning sometimes like around 3 or 4 with nausea and sweating.  This has happened on a few occasions even on the Prilosec.  I dont have any pain with this at all.  Could it be cardiac related or could it be GERD.  The doctor that put me on Prilosec said he thought it was GERD or I was perimenopausal.  I also use to suffer from anxiety/panic attacks and felt like maybe it was just anxiety.  My lab work has been all normal.  I would like your opinion in this and what kind of physician would you suggest me to see for this problem?  Thank you so much for your time.

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Nonspecific changes don't really have any significance.  The decision to proceed with a cardiolite should be made on symptoms and the likelihood of coronary artery disease.  No side effects to the tracer used in the test.  No particular side effects of the test - except the expense.