The patient can resume normal activities immediately after the test.
Two to three hours before the scan, technetium is injected into a vein in the patient's forearm.
The technetium heart scan is not dangerous. The technetium is completely gone from the body within a few days of the test. The scan itself exposes the patient to about the same amount of radiation as a chest x ray.
In an abnormal technetium heart scan, hot spots reveal damage to the heart. The larger the hot spots, the poorer the patient's prognosis.
The technetium heart scan is used to evaluate the heart after a heart attack. It can confirm that a patient had a heart attack when the symptoms and pain usually associated with a heart attack were not present; identify the size and location.
If the technetium heart scan is normal, no technetium will show up in the heart.
Pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding should not be exposed to technetium.
One can receive a heart transplant surgery at one's local hospital. This kind of surgery should be executed, however, only when the patient in question has a great need for it.
Defibrillation should not be performed on a patient who has a pulse or is alert, as this could cause a lethal heart rhythm disturbance or cardiac arrest.
Adults should get seasonal influenza vaccine annually.
Organs should always go to those with the greatest need and the greatest chance of a successful outcome, regardless of their lifestyle.
This scan is used for the diagnostic of heart diseases.
With an anxious patient, the heart beats faster. With a calm patient, the heart beats at the normal rate.