Cardiac Nuclear Medicine
Our Nuclear Cardiology department is a fully accredited laboratory with the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Nuclear Medicine Laboratories (ICANL). This accreditation is the foundation to create, achieve and to ensure the highest quality patient care. The nuclear medicine technologists are all specially trained and focus on listening with respect and providing compassionate care.What is Nuclear Medicine?
Using Nuclear Medicine in Cardiac Care
- Diagnose coronary artery disease.
- Measure effectiveness of bypass surgery.
- Measure effectiveness of therapy for heart failure.
- Detect heart transplant rejection.
- Select patients for bypass or angioplasty.
- Identify patients at high risk of heart attacks going to surgery for other reasons.
- Identify right heart failure.
- Measure chemotherapy cardiac toxicity.
- Evaluate valvular heart disease.
- Identify shunts and quantify them.
- Diagnose and localize acute (critical) heart attacks before enzyme changes.
Nuclear Treadmill
Our treadmill stress test compares blood flow in the heart at rest and also during peak exercise. Very small amounts of radioactive material are introduced into the body, where they travel to specific organs or tissues. Computers, scanners, cameras and other sophisticated equipment then spot the radioactive tracers and provide extremely detailed information for radiologists. The treadmill stress test compares blood flow in the heart at rest and also during peak exercise. Areas of the heart that are not receiving a normal blood supply appear dark or "abnormal" on a nuclear scan, showing tissue that has been damaged by heart attacks or blocked arteries, or where earlier medical measures, such as bypass grafts, have failed.
Safety of Nuclear Medicine
Our nuclear medicine team is specially trained to avoid any unnecessary radiation exposure. Patients receive just enough radiation to allow for an accurate image. This radiation is comparable to - or often times less than - that of an x-ray.