If your doctor advises you to undergo a PET scan for cardiology reasons, you may have many questions. You may wonder what a PET scan is. You may also wonder if a PET scan is painful and what the doctor can learn from the PET scan.
What is Involved in a Cardiac PET Scan?
A cardiac PET scan uses nuclear imaging to create pictures of the heart. A cardiac PET scan can be used as a diagnostic tool for coronary artery disease and as a way to assess damage after a heart attack. You may also undergo a PET scan on the heart to determine if you are a good candidate for coronary bypass surgery, stenting, or angioplasty.
A cardiac PET scan requires that a radioactive substance, known as a tracer, be injected into the bloodstream. The tracer will create something called a gamma-ray, which is picked up by the gamma detector. The result is a series of clear images of the intended area. From looking at the 3-D computer images generated from the scan your doctor will be able to assess how well your heart is functioning.
The risks associated with a cardiac PET scan are small. The amount of radiation in the tracer is very tiny and is filtered out of the body within 24 hours. If your doctor recommends a PET scan for cardiology reasons and you are nursing, are pregnant, or believe you may be pregnant, you should tell your doctor.
If you need a cardiac PET scan, you want to go somewhere with experience. Choose a PET imaging facility with extensive experience in cardiac imaging. For convenience and quality diagnostics, consider Cardiac Imaging, Inc. We are the sole provider of mobile PET imaging in the country. Many experienced cardiologists prefer to partner with us to handle their cardiac PET scan needs. Doing so eliminates the burden of staffing their own PET imaging center while entrusting their patients with experienced professionals using the latest technology.
