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Raleigh:
3100 Blue Ridge Road
Suites 100 and 300
Raleigh, NC 27612
North Raleigh:
10880 Durant Road
Suite 100
Raleigh, NC 27614
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Patient Education
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Nuclear Medicine
A stress test with Cardiolite
A stress test is used by doctors to diagnose heart disease. Not everyone who has a stress test has heart disease, but the test results can help your doctor determine if you are at risk.
What is coronary artery disease?
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a type of heart disease. CAD occurs when the arteries that carry blood to the heart become clogged with fatty deposits (plaque). These buildups can clog the vessels, reducing the amount of blood that flows to your heart. When that happens, more serious problems can develop, i.e., chest pain or angina, heart attack, heart failure, changes in your heart rhythm.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a type of heart disease. CAD occurs when the arteries that carry blood to the heart become clogged with fatty deposits (plaque). These buildups can clog the vessels, reducing the amount of blood that flows to your heart. When that happens, more serious problems can develop, i.e., chest pain or angina, heart attack, heart failure, changes in your heart rhythm.
There is no cure for coronary vascular disease, including coronary artery disease, but there are many treatments available. There are steps you can take to lower your risk and help improve the health of your heart and your blood vessels. A stress test with Cardiolite provides information about how well blood is flowing to your heart and how well your heart is working.
What is Cardiolite?
Cardiolite is an imaging agent used in stress tests to see how well blood is flowing to and through your heart. Cardiolite is radioactive, however, it is a very small amount of radiation and is in compliance with North Carolina Regulations for Protection Against Radiation, regulation 15 NCAC 11.16111.
You will be injected you with a small amount of Cardiolite and a special camera will take pictures of your heart. The test usually consists of taking pictures of your heart in two phases: a stress phase and a resting phase. The test is given in our office at 3100 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC, and normally takes 2 to 4 hours to complete. For more information on Cardiolite please visit www.cardiolite.com/patient/index.htm.
Stress phase of the test
The staff will place a small IV line in your arm. During the test, you will be injected with medicine through this IV line. You may also have small pads (electrocardiogram or ECG electrodes) attached to your body, that will allow the staff to monitor your heart rate.
If you are unable to exercise, you will be given medicine through the IV line. This will affect your heart in a way that is similar to exercise. You will also be injected with Cardiolite which will travel through your bloodstream to your heart. Speak up right away if you become short of breath, feel pain in your chest, or feel any other symptoms at any time during the test.
For the last part of the stress phase, you will be lying down in a chair while a type of camera called a gamma camera takes images of your heart. The camera “sees” the Cardiolite in your heart and uses it to help create the pictures of your heart.
Resting phase of the test This phase may occur before or after the stress phase. Cardiolite will be injected while you are resting. More pictures are taken, and this set of pictures will show the flow of blood through your heart at rest.
Test Safety
Tests of this type have been widely used in the United States since the mid-1970s. Today, over 6 million of them are performed in the United States each year.