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• What to Expect During Your Cardiolite Stress Test

What to Expect During Your Cardiolite Stress Test

Upon arrival at the office you will be asked to fill out the appropriate insurance information for proper billing of your test. The nuclear medicine technologist will then escort you to the nuclear imaging area where an IV will be placed in either a hand or arm vein. The technologist will then inject a small amount of a radioactive isotope, Cardiolite into the IV. There are no side effects from this drug, gives you a radiation dose less than that of an x-ray of your chest.

The Cardiolite must circulate for as much as 1 hour prior to any imaging of the heart. During this time you will be instructed to drink 18-24 ounces of cold water which aids in the distribution of the drug throughout your body. There is a separate waiting room for the patients undergoing the nuclear stress testing so you will have access to a water cooler, a variety of magazines and a television.

After this waiting period the technologist will position you on an imaging table for the resting scan of your heart. You will be lying down on your back with both arms resting in supports designed to help hold them above your head. The actual scan takes about 15 minutes after which you will be prepared for the treadmill.

A nurse will place a series of 12 EKG patches on your chest and attach them to an EKG monitor so we may monitor your heart rate and electrical activity in addition to your blood pressure. The treadmill will begin at a very slow rate and, at three-minute intervals, will increase in speed and incline. We try to get your heart rate to increase to a target rate or until you feel you have only one minute of exercise remaining. At this point we inject a second dose of the Cardiolite so we may assess your heart's blood flow at peak exercise levels. After finishing the treadmill the nurse will monitor your EKG and blood pressure until they have returned to pre-exercise levels.

At this point you will need to wait an additional 30 to 45 minutes in order to allow the 2nd dose of Cardiolite to circulate, during which time you need to eat a fatty snack, such as peanut butter or ham and cheese sandwich. A carbonated beverage may help improve the quality of your study, and should be consumed during this time also. Then we will acquire your stress images, which will again take about 15 minutes to scan. At the completion of this image, your test is finished and you are free to go.

There are no lasting side effects from the testing and you may drive yourself home from the office. The whole procedure takes approximately 3-4 hours to complete and your results will be available for review about 3-4 days following the date of the test.

Any questions may be directed to the nuclear medicine technologist at the office, who may be reached by calling (937) 223-4461 Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Physicians and Mid-Level Providers

Thomas G. Thornton, MD, FACC
Joseph P. Malone, MD, FACC
Stephen C. Schreck, MD, FACC
James M. Pacenta, MD, FACC
Stephen C. Wenzke, MD, FACC
Mark E. Krebs, MD, FACC
B.K. Srivastava, MD, FACC
Wayel Azmeh, MD, FACC
Mukul S. Chandra, MD, FACC
Steven R. Jain, MD
Hema L. Pandrangi, MD, FACC
Eddie D. Davenport, MD, FACC
Kathrine Mattingly, RN, MPAS, PA-C
Lisa M. Grow, PA-C
Angel Bailey, MSN, APRN ACNP-BC
Kristin B. Spitznagel, MPAS, PA-C