Table of Contents
Introduction of nuclear stress test
What is the nuclear stress test is relatively unknown to many people. The nuclear stress test is a test where the weak part of one heart can be found. This stress is for measuring your heart’s blood flow in rest and stress period normal or abnormal. It will show your weak areas or the blood flow of your heart. The main work of this test is to find any block in the artery of your heart. This will cause blood supply off in the heart, which may cause death as blood goes from the heart to different organs through the artery. If only for one sec, the blood does not go to the brain due to a block in the street, the brain cells will die. Therefore, this test is essential for maintaining a healthy life.
In this test, the doctors use a radioactive liquid to picture the blood flow in the heart better. The heart’s blood flow in two conditions, one in rest and another in stress condition after exercise, requires this test.
Sometimes the patient is unable to do exercise, then the doctor gives him medicine, which creates cardiovascular stress, which is the same blood flow in the heart during stress. This will find out any block in the artery for blood supply.
The function of nuclear stress test
As we know the nuclear stress is for finding any block in the coronary artery. The test is mostly for finding the symptoms of coronary artery disease. This test is for them when anyone feels any breathing problem or pain in the chest. If anyone feels any type of chest pain, the doctor will prescribe him the nuclear stress test. What is the atomic stress test we have to understand now? Let’s come to know about its purpose? We know that blocks in the artery will cause a heart attack, but this test helps to know about the league or any other coronary artery disease.
In the first place, we came to know that the test is for learning about any disease in the coronary artery. In reality, we understand that the coronary artery is the most critical and significant blood vessel for carrying blood in our body. When the artery blocks, the blood cannot transport, and chest pain or breathing problems are there. Then the test has to be e for knowing the condition of the block. Alongside this treatment also helps a doctor to know about the growth of the treatment. This also helps to give treatment aright to the patient.
What does the test evaluate?
As we have understood what a nuclear stress test is now, we will know about this test’s evaluation or working procedure. This test shows you two images of your heart’s blood flow through the coronary artery within rest and stress position. Both the photos show a lower patch of blood flow then the person is in a significant heart attack. You can determine a chance of block or likely block in the heart when you will see low blood flow in the stress than rest. This drop indicates a block in the artery. Through this test, you can notice the proximity, location, and size of the league.
In this test, you will see a radioactive tracer name technetium- 99; through this radioactive tracer, you will find more explicit pictures of the blood flow. Usually, this test is a two days test. On the first day, you will do the rest of the test by the technetium-99. And the stress test is the next day and follow the blood flow through the same radioactive tracer. If a patient cannot do the stress test exercise, a medicine Tc-99 is gi into the patient’s body, which helps the patient by making an exact stress blood flow avoiding exercise. The test has to do in fifteen or twenty minutes after injecting the tracer.
Risk factors of this test
As a matter of heart, the test is for knowing the blood supply in the heart. This test looks for the block or another coronary artery disease. Every test has some risk factors; therefore, the risk factors of this test are-
During the stress exercise, the rhythms of the heart may go up or down suddenly. After doing the exercises, induce heart arrhythmias may occur. As the arrhythmias are in your body during the training, the arrhythmias will go after the practice, which may lead to life-threatening. Moreover, these arrhythmias also become dangerous during modest exercise.
There are some allergies, chest pain, and heart disease as a risk factor in this test. As the radioactive tracers are into the body, this may cause an allergic reaction. Because of doing exercise, there is some rare chance of heart attack. If any of the patients are suffering from pressure, then there is a chance to have low pressure during the exercise, which may affect the heart and liver. Moreover, the chest pain may increase due to this test. Therefore now, we can speak about what is a nuclear stress test, and it’s a risk factor, working process.
Activities during test
We have understood what is nuclear stress test now we will understand the procedure during the trial. This is a test where the physician can know any type of block or coronary artery disease in the heart. This test is also essential to know about any kind of heart attack. In this test, you will see the physician will take the blood flow images in your heart two times. At first, you have to lie in a bed by keeping your hand above, and then the doctors will insert an intravenous line in one of your veins. Through this line, they will inject a radioactive tracer it will take fifteen-twenty minutes to distribute in the whole heart. After this, a gamma camera will take the first image of the blood flow in a resting position.
However, after some time, the exercise or stress part comes into action. In this part, a technician some electrodes will place some electrodes in your heart, hand, and leg for checking your ECG during exercise. On a treadmill, you have to run or walk in a slow phase, which will increase every three minutes. This exercise will last until you reach the highest heart rate. Then after exercising, the tracer will bring into your body so that the machine will trace the blood flow. A physician will inspect the whole test.
Results of the test
The nuclear stress test’s motto is to measure the blood flow through the artery in the heart is sufficient or not. After the test, the result comes in three categories, and they are-
Normal blood flow during the resting and stress position- this type of result indicates no significant or permanent heart disease. There is no type of indication of a significant heart attack or illness. No heart muscle is depriving of low blood flow during two periods. This result is strongly recommending that no heart disease is in the patient’s heart. After that, your doctor will suggest you do some medical treatment to get relief from coronary heart disease.
The image of resting is abnormal- if a patient has got a severe or major heart attack after that, the patient’s cardiac idea will be strange in a resting position. This will result in permanent heart muscle damage.
Last of all, there comes the cardiac image is abnormal in a stress position and normal in rest. This result indicates the patient is suffering from any blocks in his heart for which he is not getting sufficient blood flow mages in the test. This may lead him to a significant heart attack later.
FAQs
What can you expect to happen during the Nuclear stress test?
During the stress exercise, the rhythms of the heart may go up or down suddenly. After doing the activities, induce heart arrhythmias may occur. The doctors inject arrhythmias in your body during the exercise, but after the training, the arrhythmias will go, which may lead to life-threatening. There are some allergies, chest pain, and heart disease as a risk factor in this test. As the radioactive tracers are into the body may cause an allergic reaction too. Because of doing exercise, there is some rare chance of heart attack. Moreover, if any of the patients are suffering from pressure, then there is a chance to have low pressure.
How long does it take to have a nuclear stress test?
We have understood what a nuclear stress test is, now we will know about the duration of this test. Usually, this test is a more extended procedure. Approximately the time of this test is three to four hours. There are two steps of this test one in rest, and the other one is in exercise or resting position. At first through a gamma camera will capture your resting heart blood flow’s images. Then after a few hours or some people do the second step the next day. In the next step, the camera will take the stress position blood flow pictures.
How do you feel after a nuclear stress test?
As we know what a nuclear stress test is, now we will learn about its side effects and the after situation of this test. As this test is a lengthy test, you have some sort of discomfort during this test. After the test, the patient becomes weak for doing exercises, which may lead them towards an increase in heart rate and an infrequent possibility of a heart attack. As the patients have problems in their heart through which they breathe so, they face breathing problems too. Moreover, after the test, some patient shares their experience of severe chest pain and discomfort in their body.
How accurate is the nuclear stress test?
After knowing about what is a nuclear stress test, we will learn about its accuracy now. Doctors and physicians prefer this test by saying this test is ninety percent accurate for determining heart blockages and other coronary artery diseases. This test is much better than the other exercise stress test, which is about seventy-five percent precise for men and about sixty percent accurate for women. Therefore, for all types of heart disease of blood flow, the doctor’s first recommendation test is the nuclear stress test.
Conclusion of what is a nuclear stress test
What is nuclear stress test it is quite clear to us after reading this article. In this time of digitalization, few diseases do not have any treatment. We are on top of medical science only because of science blessings. However, the nuclear stress test is quite an essential and significant test for finding out the blocks and accurate coronary artery disease. The doctor’s first choice for finding out the reason for heart blockage is this test.
In a circle, we can say that day by day, and we are upgrading technologically. Now medical treatment is well enough for saving a dreadful patient. Therefore, belief in the medication can save your life, which was not possible in the early decades.
