What is a heart scan?

This is a way of looking at the blood supply to your heart in a way that does not hurt.
The test is done in two parts -one set of scans after an injection while your heart is stressed and one set while your heart is resting. These two sets of scans are compared to look for differences. They may be done on the same day or on separate days.

Is there anything I should tell the staff?
If you are pregnant, think you may be pregnant or are breast feeding please tell the technician BEFORE you have your injection. If possible tell us this before your appointment as we may postpone your appointment until after your pregnancy or until you have stopped breastfeeding.

Preparation for the Scan
Please have a light breakfast on the day of your scan.
It is VERY important that you do not have anything containing caffeine for 12 hours before your appointment. (This is because caffeine will interfere with the scan). You may drink fresh fruit juice, water or milk. You must NOT drink coffee or tea (even if decaffeinated), cocoa, drinking chocolate, coca-cola or diet coke or eat chocolate.
Please take all medication normally, except for  blockers (like Timolol, Atenolol) or Diltiazem (Tildiem) on the morning of your test. If you bring it with you, it can be taken after the test.
Please bring a list of all your medication with you.
Please bring something with you to eat – such as a sandwich, chocolate bar and soft drink. You should not eat this until asked to do so.
You will need to allow up to 4 hours for the whole test.
On the day of your stress scan, please do not drive yourself home. It is safe to use public transport.

Is it safe for me to have a scan?
The amount of radioactive tracer used to take the pictures is small and the radioactivity is short-lived.  The risk is outweighed by the benefit from the information that is gained by taking the scan. A doctor will have checked the request to make sure this is the optimal test before we contact you.
If you have any concerns or would like further information, please contact the department before your visit.

How is my heart stressed?
You may be asked to walk on a treadmill, or pedal a bike. The injection will be given while your heart is working hard. This is so it shows the blood flow to your heart while you are exercising.
If you cannot walk or cycle don’t worry, we can exercise your heart in other ways. We can use a drug that speeds up your heart and makes it beat stronger, exactly as if you were exercising.
Another way of stressing your heart is to use a drug that dilates up small blood vessels. This may make you feel warm and you may be asked to do a small amount of gentle exercise at the same time.
Sometimes even though you can exercise the doctors may wish to use another method. The person doing the stress test will discuss this with you and explain why the method they have chosen is the best for you.

Does the injection hurt?
A small amount of radioactivity will be injected into a vein in your arm.  You may have had a blood test in the past. This is much the same. The ‘pinprick’ of the needle may hurt a bit, but that is all.
You will then be asked to eat and drink – this helps to make your heart pictures clearer.

Your scan
After the radioactive injection, you will be asked to wait about 30-40 minutes, as this improves the pictures. The scans are taken by a special machine called a gamma camera; this is not a tunnel, but it will come close to you. There are sensors in the camera which stop it moving if it touches anything so it cannot hurt you. You will be asked to lie flat with your left arm (or with both arms) above your head. The gamma camera will move round you taking pictures all the time. It is very important that you keep still.
 The pictures take about 20-25 minutes.

Your results
The report will be sent to the doctor who requested your scan. The reason it is done this way is because your doctor will have all the results from other tests and will be able to tell you how the results of your scans affect your care.

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What is a Kidney Scan?
The kidneys remove waste products from the blood stream and excrete these in the urine. There are two ways of looking at kidney function. The first looks at the way a small amount of radioactivity given into a vein, gets to the kidneys. If it is important to measure individual kidney function, the second way will be used. This needs an injection of a small quantity of radioactivity into a vein, while lying under the camera that takes the pictures. The excretion of the radioactivity through the kidney, into the bladder is imaged.

Preparation for the Scan
There are no special preparations for a kidney scan. You can eat drink and take any medication as normal.
If you are pregnant, think you may be pregnant or breast feeding please tell the technician
Please avoid prolongued close contact with small children and babies for the rest of the day.

Is it safe for me to have a scan?
The small amount of radioactive tracer injected is used to take the pictures.  The risk is outweighed by the information that is gained by taking the scan. A doctor will have checked the request to make sure this is the optimal test before we contact you.
If you have any concerns or would like further information, please contact the person who is looking after you.

The injection
A small amount of radioactivity will be injected into a vein in your arm
We then have to wait for this to get into your kidneys, so you will be asked to wait 2-4 hours. You will be asked to drink fluids to encourage your kidneys to work. During this time you can leave the department and eat and drink normally.

Your scan
You will not have to get undressed, but will be asked to remove any metal objects like braces, jewellery and belts before you lie on the bed
You will be asked to go to the toilet to empty your bladder
The scans are taken by a special camera; this is not a tunnel, but may well come very close to you. There are sensors in the camera which stop the machines moving if they touch anything.
You will not be left on your own – there will be someone immediately available.
The scans usually take about 30 minutes

Your Results
Your scans will be looked at by a doctor, who will agree the report and this will be sent to the doctor who requested your scan. The reason it is done this way is because your doctor will have all the results from other tests and will be able to tell you how the results if your scans affect your care.

Information about you
As part of your care, information will be shared between clinical staff, some of whom you may not meet. It may also be used to help train staff involved in your care. Information we collect may also be used after you have been treated to help us improve the quality of our care, to plan services or to research into new developments.
 All information is treated as confidential and is not given to anyone who does not need it. If you have any concerns, please discuss these with the doctor or person looking after you.

More information?
All the staff would like to make your visit as pleasant as possible. If you have any concerns please talk to the person looking after you.

            Printable Leaflet version of this page  
            Printable leaflet version of this page with Images