Cardiac Stress Testing with Nuclear Cardiac Imaging in Patchogue
Learn More from Our Skilled Cardiologists
A cardiac stress test allows our cardiologists to see how your heart and blood vessels react when your heart has to pump harder than usual. Brookhaven Cardiac performs several types of stress tests.
Exercise EKG Stress Test
An exercise electrocardiogram, or exercise EKG, monitors for changes in your heart that occur as you exercise. Sometimes abnormalities in your heart function can only be seen during times your heart is working harder than usual.
An exercise EKG uses either a treadmill or stationary bicycle to get your heart rate up, and then the heart’s electrical activity is traced as lines on paper so that your cardiologist can evaluate the waves.
Exercise & Pharmacologic Nuclear Cardiac Stress Testing
A pharmacologic nuclear cardiac stress test uses medicines to dilate blood vessels that lead to the heart, which simulates exercise for patients who are unable to do a standard exercise stress test.
Following either physical exercise or pharmacologically induced stress, a radioactive tracer is injected to help our cardiologists see if there is adequate blood flow to the heart during activity versus when you are at rest. An abnormal result may suggest a blockage in your coronary arteries, which may require further attention.
MUGA Scan
A MUGA scan uses a radioactive tracer and a special camera to capture images of your heart as it pumps blood. The test measures how well your heart pumps blood with each heartbeat.
This minimally invasive procedure allows our cardiologists to determine which portion of your heart sustained damage after a heart attack, how much damage the attack caused, and assess your heart’s overall functionality.
Do you need an appointment for a stress test or nuclear cardiac imaging?
Call (631) 364-0085.
Preparing for Your Stress Test Appointment
When preparing for this type of cardiac care in Patchogue, you will want to follow all instructions carefully. Different stress tests will have different requirements, which may include:
- Instructions on what to eat or drink before the appointment
- Information about what medications to take and what to avoid in the 24 hours before you receive the cardiac services
- What to wear – in general, you will want to wear comfortable clothing
- Whether or not to ingest caffeine before the stress test
Stress test appointments take several hours, so be sure to make arrangements for both the test and the follow-up. Depending on which test you are having done, we’ll let you know exactly how much time will be needed.
Schedule Your Appointment
A cardiac stress test helps us understand how well your heart works when you have to exert effort. Specific stress tests also help our cardiologists determine what heart damage you may have after a heart attack.
If you need to schedule an appointment or would like our doctors to review you for a possible stress test, contact Brookhaven Cardiac at (631) 364-0085 today.