Nuclear Cardiology

The doctor might prescribe a nuclear cardiology test to the patients for various reasons, such as:

• To evaluate the patient’s heart for the following:
  • Coronary artery disease 
  • Cardiomyopathy (diseases of the heart muscle) 
• To assess symptoms like:
  • Shortness of breath
  • Unexplained chest pain
  • Angina - chest pain brought on by exercise
  • Abnormal electrocardiogram
• Cardiac nuclear medicine imaging is also prescribed to evaluate:
  • The heart-wall movement and overall heart function 
  • The results of bypass surgery 
  • The presence and extent of suspected heart diseases (such as CAD)
  • The extent of injury to the heart following a heart attack
  • The results of revascularization procedures (designed to restore blood supply to the heart)
  • To visualise blood flow patterns to the heart walls
    

According to the doctors, the most frequent evidence-based clinical indications for nuclear testing are as under:

• Detection/exclusion of coronary artery disease
• Assessment of risks for cardiovascular events
• Monitoring of therapy for coronary artery disease
• Evaluation of right to left shunting
• Determination of functional relevance of known coronary artery disease
• Myocardial viability assessment in heart failure/after myocardial infarction
• Evaluation of global left ventricular function before and after chemotherapy
• Evaluation of the synchrony of left ventricular emptying with phase analysis

The Nuclear Cardiology unit at BLK-Max Heart centre is known for offering specialized and advanced techniques for offering precision-based procedures using the latest equipment. The staff and experts at the unit are not only experienced in carrying out these procedures but are certified with the same. The services offered at the Nuclear Cardiology unit at BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital are:

• Te99 SPECT Nuclear Cardiac Scans: It is a non-invasive imaging test recommended by doctors to learn about any underlying coronary heart disease or to determine if the patient has suffered any heart attack in the past. During the procedure, radioactive tracers are injected into the bloodstream. The picture of the heart is then taken with the help of a gamma camera which picks up a clear image of your heart.
• PET Scans for Myocardial Viability Studies: The PET scan is done to study myocardial blood flow in the heart. This is done to analyse the amount of damage in the heart after a heart attack. The scan helps the doctors in deciding the treatment plan to be undertaken for a patient. This test is also done through radioactive tracers wherein the picture is taken through a PET camera.
• Cardiac MRI: Cardiac MRI or Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a more specialised test to ascertain heart conditions and help doctors in deciding the treatment procedure to be followed. It is usually done after some inconsistency is detected in a patient’s chest X-ray and CT Scans. This procedure is also done by injecting dye into your blood vessels. A patient will then be asked to lie down still on a table which will be carefully slid inside the MRI machine.
• Renal Perfusion Scans: This scan is done to study blood flow obstruction to kidneys. It helps the doctors in determining the narrowing of renal arteries in case of renal artery stenosis.
• MIBG Scans for Pheochromocytoma Detection: MIBG Scan is done to detect vascular tumours.

Some of the major benefits offered by Nuclear medicine tests are:

• They provide unique information that contains details about both function and anatomic structure of the body, which is often unattainable using other imaging procedures.
• The scan results yield the most useful information, for a wide spectrum of diseases, needed to make a diagnosis or to determine the appropriate treatment plan.
• These tests are less expensive and may yield more precise information than exploratory surgery.

Since the unit offers non-invasive diagnostic measures, therefore, a patient rarely encounters any risk that is associated with other diagnostic tests. However, some of the rarest risks that a patient can experience are:

• Chest pain
• Allergic reaction to radioactive dye during nuclear scans
• The risk of radiation exposure in young subjects and women

However, a patient must inform the doctor immediately if any of these symptoms cannot be described as mild or transitory.