Answer to Question #11560 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Nuclear Medicine Patient Issues — Diagnostic Nuclear Medicine

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

Q

I'm having a Cardiolite stress test next week. I understand there are two injections. Do I need to be concerned with the amount of radiation I will receive? I'm so worried that I'm thinking of cancelling. I'm a wreck!

A

If my doctor ordered a stress test, I would not hesitate to have the test. This test uses technetium-99m (99mTc), a radionuclide that decays away rapidly and is also removed from the body in your urine. The radiation dose is small.

Nuclear medicine exams provide vital information to doctors on the functioning of organs in our bodies and have been used for over 60 years worldwide. Thousands of stress tests are given every year to patients and are used for their benefit. Whether the results are positive or negative, it provides important information to your cardiologist to resolve your medical issue.

Marcia Hartman, MS

Answer posted on 4 April 2016. The information posted on this web page is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may affect the applicability of concepts, materials, and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice. To the best of our knowledge, answers are correct at the time they are posted. Be advised that over time, requirements could change, new data could be made available, and Internet links could change, affecting the correctness of the answers. Answers are the professional opinions of the expert responding to each question; they do not necessarily represent the position of the Health Physics Society.