Cardiac (Myocardial Perfusion) Scintigraphy

Myocardial Perfusion Scintigraphy is conducted to research how well blood flows through heart muscle.

Heart muscle is supplied by special blood vessels called coronary arteries. If coronary arteries narrow down or are blocked (which is called coronary arterial disease) your heart cannot be supplied with sufficient oxygen. This condition may not indicate any symptoms or chest pain can occur.

Stress/Rest Myocardial Perfusion Imaging is a test which can measure the blood supply to the heart in 2 different conditions one of which is under stress (for instance, exercising) and the other is resting. In such cases, a scarce amount of radioactivity is applied for the test and then the images of heart are taken with an instrument rotating around the chest (gamma camera). These images allow comparing the blood flow in the heart during stress and rest. Resting study is sometimes conducted within the same day with the stress study while sometimes a different day is reserved for it.

Stress test

Stress test is given while the patient walks on a treadmill. If your physician decided that you cannot do this, stress test on medication will be conducted through the administration of medication that could mimic exercise (such as dipiridamole, dobutamine) so that your heart rate is increased. Small electrodes will be placed on your chest before the stress test begins. These electrodes allow taking ECG which enables monitoring heart rhythms.

The exercise you will make is easy at the initial stage. It gets more difficult in the next minutes. Your heart rate and blood pressure will increase as it gets difficult. This is perfectly normal. Your ECG and blood pressure will continuously be monitored during your exercise. In the event that you feel any discomfort during the stress test, inform the responsible person. A scarce amount of radioactive substance will be administered through vascular access short before or after the end of stress test. This radioactivity will be retained in your heart in proportion to the blood flow in your heart muscle. Stress images are taken 5-30 minutes after administration of radioactivity. Imaging lasts 15-20 minutes.

Rest test

In the event of using Thallium-201 in the stress test, there is no need for a 2nd injection for the rest test and the images of heart are taken again after 3-4 hours of stress test. In the event of using Tc-99m-MIBI, a separate injection is needed for the rest test. The rest test is given either within the same day with or in a different day than the stress test and images are taken 30 min.-1 hour after the injection.

Considerations before myocardial perfusion scintigraphy

• • Please arrive for the appointment with comfortable clothes on. If you are required to exercise, you should definitely bring along trainers and sports suit.

• • Please remember to stop taking the medication that you were requested to do so in the correct time you have been instructed.

• • The radioactive substance administered to you for imaging your heart vanishes away by its own, and it is also disposed by the usual functions of your body. Drinking plenty of fluid after the test will facilitate removing the substance from your body.

• • Please remember to lay down without any movement during the imaging of stress and rest tests. Motion disrupts the quality of imaging, which could lead to misinterpretation.

• • You can continue your normal activities after the test is completed. Please start back using the medication that you had temporarily stopped taking due to the test.