Nuclear Imaging
Nuclear imaging is a fairly new technique which uses small amounts of radiation to provide information which determines blood flow patterns in the body, in the case of cardiology, blood flow patterns associated with the heart, during both rest and stress conditions. This enables doctors to obtain quick and accurate diagnosis of abnormalities of the heart and is an excellent way to evaluate the possibility of coronary artery blockages and the ejection fraction (squeeze ability/pumping of the heart). A nuclear imaging test is more sensitive and reliable than a regular stress test and also provides additional information on the function and size of the heart. It is painless and exposes patients to only a minimal amount of radiation, which is quickly eliminated from the body through natural functions. Your cardiac specialist may order the test by a variety of names, generally to obtain the specific results he/she is looking for. However, they are all basically a scan, which depicts the radioactive material inside you and takes a picture of it for diagnosis by the cardiologist.
