Nuclear Stress Test-Terrified

thank you very much. a hug just what I needed. and it felt good to tell my story and not be silent. the girl who ran the test, I found out, is now working for Kaiser Permanente. That's my insurance co.! warmest regards, Krista

I recently had the test and there's not much to it. It takes 4-5 hours because of the wait time while waiting for the drug to circulate through your system.
The techs will set up an IV through which they inject the trace medicine.. bring your own snacks, the hospital didn't supply any but they make that clear at the start..
In a nut shell they follow the blood trail to the heart then through the heart at the end to determine if there are blockages the they apply an antidote to offset any side effects of the medicine. You feel a warming effect slightly from the medicine. Whatever side effects if any you may have disappears immediately with the antidote.
I'm sure you have nothing to fear form the test..
Hope this eases your mind.. best if luck..

It doesn't hurt but it is sure a strange feeling. Fortunately, this doesn't last long.

I had one recently with no issues, The technician took his time to explain exactly what he was going to do and what to expect. The physical part on the treadmill was geared towards reaching 85% of my heart's output, but I could have stopped it at any point. What was not clear to me was the follow up with my cardio afterwards who told me my main artery was less than 70% clogged. That seems high to me, but apparently not high enough to warrant further treatment, other than maintaining my daily intake o 40mgs of crestor.

@jingqui2025
One thing I forgot..they may put you on the treadmill to get heart rate up..But they may just go with unclear medicine which is what I had..if that's offered go that route.

I had nuclear stress test a few years back. I had been using a treadmill for several months in rehab, so I was used to it. Your attendants should ask if you have ever been on one before and offer advice and assistance if needed.

The injections I was given were to give whoever read the results a good picture of my heart functioning within its limits. It did what it was supposed to do, and I received a reasonable estimate of my ejection fraction, which was around 35. Normal, I believe, is 50-60. so my left ventricle is does not have enough force to get oxygen and nutrients to the parts of my body that need them. I was told that while using the treadmill would do next to nothing to repair the damage to my left ventricle, it would strengthen my other heart chambers. It also gives my organs, especially my kidneys, which often become less functional over time with congestive heart failure, a little boost. I've had no kidney problems yet. After my heart attack, I asked my doctor for an estimate of how long I might live. He hemmed and hawed but I told him I needed some kind of idea even if was just an educated guess. Two to five years was his guess. He did, however, suggest I continue using a treadmill and add a bit of weight lifting.

I took his advice, and it's been nine years now. I despise the mill de Sade, but I'm on it every other day for 45 minutes. Watching movies helps with the boredom and discomfort. I've worked up to 6.5 km/hour at a 15 degree grade for about half the ride, around twenty minutes.

I'm still here. I did not expect to be. I fully believe the treadmill time made that possible. I would rather jog but it's hot year round where I live, so at least I can get my exercise done in a/c.

I'm trying my best to outlive my dogs, as they would probably have to be euthanized if I predecease them. One is 12 and the other seven. One was a soi dog whose person died and the other from a completely wild litter. They found me. I don't know that either could survive outside now, and it would be very difficult to find someone to adopt inside dogs. It's not a thing here. People have dogs, but most of them run loose. If they do their job, bark at strangers and kill snakes, they get a bit of food every day. Some get a little affection too. But they also hit the street early morning and late afternoon to pick up what people throw out their windows for them. And some very kind people have dogs that they take food to every day in various locations where they congregate. The 3rd world is not devoid of kindness in spite of its many hardships.

Approach your upcoming treadmill ride with caution. Use the handles for balance if needed. Hopefully you will get a good picture of your heart health and can make a plan to try to improve its tenure.

I recently started taking jardiance and eliquis. Any advice on those would be appreciated. Amiodarone was the pits.

@william66 The standard dose of Eliquis (apixaban is the name of the active ingredient) is 5 mg BID (bis in die, or 'twice each day'). It is a safe drug, not universally tolerated. Some swear they have to stop due to side effects, and I'm not in a position to argue. Some fear, not irrationally, uncontrolled bleeds, especially intracranial bleeds. There is some concern, but it turns out to be a nothingburger for the whopping majority of patients using it. I have been on it, not especially willingly, but still gratefully (for what it prevents), since Oct 2017. I have had cuts, scrapes, bruises, and three surgeries (two RF ablations, and one vitrectomy to free up a macular adhesion), plus an angiogram, all requiring piercing of a surface on my body. No problems. In fact, on the day of the angiogram, which my electrophysiologist needed to rule out atherosclerosis before he'd ablate me, the instructions were to cease apixaban the previous noon, take five (5) baby aspirin between supper and when I showed up at the cath lab next morning, and then.....and then....they dosed with with heparin in my IV. Heparin!!! Yet, here I am, typing away madly with a hot mugga tea in front of me.

If it doesn't do a lick of good for you, it will help to prevent deep vein thrombosis if you're a frequent flier, if you sit a lot, or have other pressure points that last more than 20 minutes at a time. I haven't fibrillated since part way through my blanking period in early 2023, and it still looks solid for me...so far. But, I still take the statin and still take the 5 mg BID of Eliquis.

I appreciate your post above with the detail and tone. Nice job.

Apparently, 0.24% of folks on Eliquis get pericarditis with bloody effusion. I was one of the unlucky 1 in 400, and am off Eliquis now.

If you do suddenly go to the ER with bad chest pain, have them look for effusion in the pericardium (around the heart), i.e., an Echocardiogram.

They wanted to start me off with an angiogram and I refused it.

Thank you. I had never heard of pericarditis with bloody effusion. I am glad the odds are low.
I looked up the symptoms. I have only fainted once after a climb up a mountain with my dogs. My larger one in harness helps with the steeper parts where I get tired. She licked my face until I woke up while the smaller one sat on my back and nuzzled my head. I love teamwork.

I had my heart attack several years back while doing pushups. It was a complete surprise as I was thin, exercised a lot, ate what I consider a healthy diet, and thought of myself as "fit". The pain was slight but I went to a provincial hospital and they gave me the heart attack confirmation. Later a defibrillator was installed (not sure of the right word for this procedure), but it was infected with staph and eventually I had to deal with sepsis. I was in the hospital with IV's for over a month and another two months at home with TICC lines.

The doctor who removed the defibrillator told me it was covered with staph like moss on a tree. She asked me if I wanted re-installed. She agreed with my decision to do without it. That was about six years ago and I've not had a problem with sepsis again. Any time I am feeling poorly I will get tested. Not knowing what it was, I waited too long the first time and had to be carried into the ICU by my cab driver after almost two days of travel. The doctor there told me I was only a few days away from dying as my oxygen level had tanked. I was given transfusions for several days until it finally reached 96. I think it was around 80 when I came in.

Covid was in full swing by the time I returned home. I got back into my country the day before it was locked down. I did have a covid vaccine. Later I developed covid but it was mild compared to what others in my village experienced. Quite a few of the elderly died.

We are now having an episode of "soil fever" which has killed over twenty people. We've not had rain for several months so the air is full of dust. Daily temps are 98-105, so dogs and I stay inside except for short poop runs. Books on kindle and movies on mubi are keeping me entertained, but I miss the outdoors.

Again, thank you for your warning. I have translated what you wrote to give to my nearest hospital should I ever have to go there with severe chest pain.