I am seeking advice from anyone that might have had a Persantine Stress Test performed. I am going to have one done soon and I am quite nervous about it, as dye will be injected into my system, and this really scares me. I would appreciate any advice from anyone that has had this test done. I would like to know if the test is painful, and what might I expect while going through the procedure? Any scary, strange feelings or any side effects while going through it?

Thanks so much, and looking forward to some advice from you good people.

Judy

Hi Judy, :)

MIBI stress test is an easy one to have. Please don't be nervous. There's no pain. This is what will happen: You will be given an injection of the radioactive tracer about an hour before the test begins. Then you'll be taken to the nuclear medicine. You will be connected to monitors and asked to walk on a treadmill. There will be a doctor on stand-by. I was physically unable to exercise, so received a 4 minute IV injection of dipyramidole & TC 99 MIBI to simulate activity. The images were obtained after the exercise simulation. It took about 1/2 hour and was completely painless. I was then taken back to my hospital room, given some ginger ale to drink and had to wait an hour. Back to nuclear medicine for more imaging. (Another 1/2 hour). That was it.
The only after-effect...a mean headache which lasted days.
A piece of cake and NOTHING to fear! :)
Good luck!

Flowergirl

Hi Judy:

I underwent a nuclear stress test earlier this year. As flowergirl described, you will be injected with the radioactive tracer (dye) before the procedure. There were no lasting effects whatsoever in my case from the dye and it simply flushed out from the system. The reason they use the dye (a very small amount) is to help them identify the areas of the heart that have adequate blood flow and areas that don't. The areas that quickly pick up the tracer material are the ones with the adequate blood supply as opposed to the ones with reduced or no blood at all. Analysis of the images of the heart taken by a scanning camera can help identify the location and severity of reduced blood flow to the heart.

I was able to exercise, so my test was performed using a treadmill. Since you are undergoing a persantine cardiolite stress test, your doctor has determined that you cannot tolerate the exercise (treadmill) and therefore will simulate the effects of such exercise by using the persantine which is the brand name for dipyridamole. So this would be exactly similar to what flowergirl underwent and explained in her reply to you earlier. I did not suffer from a headache afterwards as Flowergirl did, so I wonder if this was a side effect of the persantine/dipyridamole. At any rate, your main concern of long-lasting effects of the dye on your system are not warranted and you will be okay. Just make sure you follow the doctor's instructions regarding the preparations on the day or days before the procedure is done, i.e. any medication adjustment, diet etc. Good luck

Thanks Flowergirl and Nosa. I appreciate your replies concerning the stress test. I have talked to two people that told me the test is not painful, and no problem to go through. Then I talked to my sister in law today, and she told me when she had one, her heart started racing, and they had to stop the test! I have to admit, talking to her really made me nervous! However, after reading your posts, now I am feeling a bit better, but, honestly, am on the verge of cancelling this thing! My EKG in my doctors office turned out fine, but seems my doctor thinks this stress test is something I should have! Oh my, what to do......I am torn between going in and doing it, or just cancelling it come Monday!! My test sounds just like what you both had, without the treadmill, though. Thanks for explaining what your experiences were, though, and I will keep you posted as to whether I chickened out..or not!!!

You both did put me at ease tonight, though! Thanks so much!

Judy

I had this test about 40 days ago, and there were no problems. Only thing I couldn't have coffee for 24 hours before. :(

They stressed my heart as you have read in the other posts, with a drug, and I was quite nauseous for about 15 seconds. But then they injected an antidote to the "stressor" drug, and immediately I was fine.

This test reveals a lot about the heart, and I am glad I had it. Don't worry, it is non-invasive.