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Nuclear Stress Test – Test Your Heart's stress levels

The nuclear stress test is a test used to judge the capability of the heart to get used to to stressful situations. Stress tests are to determine whether all the blood vessels supplying the heart are normal and whether there is any dead tissue in the heart preventing it from pumping blood effectively. This article tells you more on:

What are the types of stress tests?
What is nuclear stress test and how it works?
Who needs a nuclear stress test?

The nuclear stress test is a test used to assess the ability of the heart to accustom to stressful situations. Stress tests are to determine whether all the blood vessels supplying the heart are normal and whether there is any dead tissue in the heart preventing it from pumping blood effectively. If they are normal, then the heart may be able to work properly during stress. If the tests show abnormal results, then it is dangerous to get exposed to stressful situations as the heart will not be able to function properly. A radio active isotope is used to carry out this cardiac nuclear stress test. Though a number of different radio isotopes are available for this nuclear heart stress test, the Thallium 201 or the Cardiolite stress test is the most popular one.

Stress Tests

A person is said be under stress when he faces any situation or stimulus that is hostile and induces the 'Fight or flight response' in him. His body tries to adjust its functions to tackle it. One such adjustment is the increase in the cardiac output by increasing the heart rate and the blood pressure. Though this adjustment is meant to provide more energy to tackle stress, the adjustment itself needs more energy. Energy is provided to the heart through three main blood vessels. If they are normal they provide adequate energy to heart while tackling stress. If they are either partially or totally blocked the energy is not adequately supplied. As a result, the heart pumps blood ineffectively.

There are two types of stress tests.

Exercise Stress Test
Isotope Stress Test

Both are used to find out functional capacity of heart while at rest and during exercise.

Exercise Stress Test

Exercise Stress Test, the Non nuclear Stress Test or the Treadmill Test as it is popularly known is simple stress test. The patient is made to walk on a moving belt (treadmill) or in some labs made to pedal a stationary bicycle and the activity of the heart is monitored through ECG/EKG.The speed of walking is increased by increasing the speed of the moving belt and its effect on the heart is seen. If the heart is normal, then the ECG/EKG will be normal .If the heart is not able to cope up with stress the ECG/EKG will show abnormal tracings.

The cardiac Nuclear Stress test also called as Thallium stress test or Isotope stress test is a similar test in which the images of resting and stressed heart are studied.

Principle

A radio active substance is injected into the patient which gets concentrated in the heart and images of the heart are taken using a gamma camera both at the resting stage and the stressed stage. Then it is analyzed to know about the functional and the structural integrity of the heart. During exercise the normal blood vessel increases in diameter allowing more blood to flow across and the narrowed blood vessel does not allow more blood to flow. The portion of the heart supplied by normal blood vessel accumulates more isotopes and appears as dark spots while the portion of the heart supplied by a blocked blood vessel accumulates less isotope and appears as light spots.

Radio active isotopes are substances which emit radiation which can be recorded by a Geiger counter or a Gamma camera. The radioactive isotopes used in Nuclear stress test are