What is nuclear medicine?
Nuclear medicine is a way of taking pictures of a part of your body using a small amount of radioactive tracer. It uses a special camera, called a Gamma Camera.

Is there any risk from the radiation?
Radiation is used as sparingly as possible and the benefits of the scan far outweigh the risk to your health. If you have any concerns, please ask to discuss this in more details with your doctor or a member of the technical staff at the institution where the test is held.

Female Patients
You should advise your doctor or the staff performing the scan prior to the test if you are pregnant or think that you might be pregnant, or if you are breastfeeding or have very young children. Please do not bring children with you to the nuclear medicine department unless absolutely necessary.

Are there any side effects?
The tracer injection has no immediate side effects that you will notice, it will not make you sleepy nor will it prevent you from driving a car. It does not normally cause an allergic reaction, even in people who are susceptible to allergies. Other medications may be used during the test, which may cause short lived side effects, these medications shall be explained in more detail by your doctor or the staff performing the scan.

Points to remember on the day

• Eat only a light breakfast if your scan is in the morning, or a light lunch for evening scans
• Wear appropriate clothing as you will be asked to do some gentle exercise
• Do not drink tea, coffee, hot chocolate or cola, or eat or drink anything containing caffeine for 12 hours before your appointment
• Bring your tablets or a list of tablets you take
• Contact the department prior to the test if you take a medication called Persantin or Dipyridamole.
• Contact the department prior to the test if you are pregnant or may be pregnant, or if you are breastfeeding or have very young children.

About your scan
The scan assesses the blood flow to your heart and shows how well your coronary arteries are working. It is in two parts. During the first part the technician will exercise your heart using a drug and ask you to do some light pedaling. You will then be given an injection containing a small amount of radioactive material, which will allow pictures of the blood flow to your heart to be taken using a gamma camera.
The actual scan takes about 15 minutes and you will need to keep very still. You will need a second set of images about two to three hours later. In between images you may drink, but you should not eat anything or exert yourself. The second part does not involve injections or exercise, and it is simply a repeat of the images taken earlier. You will need to allow four to five hours to complete the test.

Are there any side effects?
The injection used to exercise the heart can cause short lived side effects of flushing of the face or chest discomfort. These effects will be explained in more detail at the time of the test.

Medicines
There is no need to change any regular medications. If you are taking Persantin or Dipyridamole please contact the department where your scan is being held or your doctor prior to the day of the scan.

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