Myocardial perfusion scan.

[scentedgardener]

Hi everyone. Has anyone had one of these scans? It was mentioned at my appointment, only in the letter to my GP which arrived 2 days before the appointment letter, so I didn't have a chance to ask questions.I'm just a bit puzzled as it says I can have a "light" breakfast, but no caffeine for 12 hours. However they tell you to take a sandwich & a drink, or money to go to the cafe, so I rang and asked about that and they told me I would need to eat and drink after the tracer was injected but before the scan, and that I could have tea.

I will take stuff with me as it's too far for me to walk to the cafe, but I don't want to lug tea and an alternative drink as it's going to be a struggle anyway to carry it.

If anyone can shed any light I'd be grateful.

[Hidden]

Hi, I think it depends on which version of the scan you have.

I had a scan in July, but, mine comprised the short "rest" part only, so I was told to eat and drink as normal. After the tracer was injected, I had three cups of water to fill my stomach out which apparently helps with the scan.

The full version "stress and rest" takes a lot longer, up to 4 hours, so in those circumstances you can eat and drink, although someone else should be able to confirm.

When I was in the waiting room, someone was given a cup of tea, which I couldn't understand at the time when I was given water.

[scentedgardener in reply to Hidden]

I'm having the stress one on Wednesday, they say between 3 and 4 hours for that one, and the rest one the following Wednesday ant they say up to 2 hours for that one. Lucky me, I get both!

[Echo24uk in reply to scentedgardener]

Scented … just prepare yourself as it’s not a nice experience what so ever !!

[Tos92]

I’ve had a myocardial perfusion scan before. It consisted of two parts. I had the stress test twice as I initially had a very bad reaction to the stress agent which was administered at the time, dobutamine. It was rescheduled with another stress agent the second time and I got on a lot better with it. I was told not to eat or drink anything 6 hours before the stress part of the test. Water was allowed however. Once the stress agent was administered I experienced chest pain, breathlessness, and abdominal pain and sweating. This is considered normal and will be explained to you beforehand. There are doctors around when the stress agent is administered and they won’t let you leave the room until your symptoms have subsided.

After that, I was sent away to eat a fatty meal. At this point, I think about 2.5 hours had passed. I was then told to come back, some radioactive substance was injected in me and I was put under a scanner so that they could see my heart clearly. This part of the test can show ischaemia and therefore, it is a good test to have.

The rest part of the test was easier which was the second part of the test on a different day. Radioactive substance was administered again, and I was told to eat a fatty meal and come back within approximately an hour. Again, I was put under the scanner which helped check for ischaemia whilst I was at rest.

I hope this helps.

Good luck for the scan.

Tos

[scentedgardener in reply to Tos92]

Hi Tos, thanks for the info. I do know they will administer drugs to mimic exercise, I suppose they get results quicker than waiting for it to happen on a treadmill. They suggest to bring a sandwich, which I will do. From what I gather from the cardiologist's letter he wants them to check the blood flow around the heart. I must say I'm a bit nervous, I've been in AF for a week, it's never lasted that long before, and my BP is in my boots, 98/71 was my average this morning. Usually when I get an episode it's more like 160/90! HR is okay though.

Ho hum, perhaps I'll get some answers now.

[Anon2023]

Hi. I had one of these at the beginning of the year but only the bit where they injected me with radioactive fluid. I was told to eat and drink as normal before and i was given a large glass of water when I arrived. I had the test which was completely painless but the result wasn’t clear. They then gave me a bag of crisps and a coffee then did it again an hour later. Something about eating something fatty helped as the second test was clear. The test I had was painless but I only had the one where the radioactive stuff was injected. The scan came back with much more detail than the echos I’d had before. Good luck, I’m sure that you will be fine xx

[scentedgardener in reply to Anon2023]

Thank you for the information. I get the stress test this week and the rest test the following week.It's good to know that it gives detailed information, I hope to get some answers at long last.

[Anon2023 in reply to scentedgardener]

They always have problems getting pictures from my echos but the perfusion scan was able to get an accurate EF reading which was great. The only slight issue was having to lie very still for 20 minutes as I tend to wriggle a bit 😂 I’m sure that it’ll go well but I’ll keep everything crossed for you. X

[anke123]

Hi I also had the two tests a week apart and told to eat a fatty meal so I had a cheese sandwich and a mincepie. As soon as I was injected with whatever it was to stress my heart I knew they would find something wrong, as I felt unwell but the staff are there and make sure you are ok. Hope all goes well for you. I had just one stent done . All the best.

[scentedgardener in reply to anke123]

Thank you. They said to either bring money for the cafe, or sandwich and a drink. They didn't say anything about fatty food so it's a bit late now, I've had my online delivery, I can't get to the shops. I planned on a salmon sandwich. Oops.

[anke123]

Sure that should be ok as salmon is a oily fish

[scentedgardener]

Thanks. I bought tinned salmon, preparing it puts me off, and the cats will eat it if I don't. I have ham to cook if I fail on the salmon.Hope you're doing okay since your stent. I have no idea what may or may not be the problem, it's all changed in the last 6 months. The only thing that is really constant is that stooping or bending will often set it all off.

Take care.

[anke123 in reply to scentedgardener]

I am doing well since I had the stent done, had a few problems at times the GP or hospital kept increasing some of the medication. I started having sudden tired spells with palpitations often when bending down, doing housework always in the morning. I saw a consultant last week and I have been taken of some of the medication and already feel much better.

[scentedgardener in reply to anke123]

Glad you're now feeling better.

[Dudleycat]

Hello, I had a resting scan done last Thursday and am going back this morning for the stress scan. After the injection of the isotopes I was put in a separate room to wait for it to work and given a glass of full fat milk and two slices of bread, thickly spread with butter. Not very palatable but apparently necessary to clear the isotopes from the stomach and liver so it does not interfere with the picture of the heart.