Ever had a "Thallium Stress Test"?

[O's Fan Rich]

I'm going to the cardiologist tommorow to get one of these things done.
Seems pretty simple, treadmill ( I'll think of it as a human dyno and see if I can peg it!) IV, then some radioactive die gets put in , then they take some pictures. I was told the total time will be 4 hours or so.
Any surprises in store for me?

[Paul T. Casey]

The potential exists that the radioactive dye makes one prone to pinstripes! :lol: J/K, Hope all goes well on the "dyno." The biggest problem I've been noticing with this getting older thing is the way I seem to be falling apart. For example, I was able to tan all my life, now I've got a spot on my nose that must be watched. Bummer.

[MERCMAN]

I'm going to the cardiologist tommorow to get one of these things done.
Seems pretty simple, treadmill ( I'll think of it as a human dyno and see if I can peg it!) IV, then some radioactive die gets put in , then they take some pictures. I was told the total time will be 4 hours or so.
Any surprises in store for me?

That is my area of expertise,, however you should be receiving a Cardiolite exam, not thallium. Hardly anyone does thallium any more, it is not "state of the art" I am director of Nuclear Medicine in a Hospital, so I think I know what I am talking about :)

If you would like to know more, I can PM you my phone # at work or home
:up:

[O's Fan Rich]

I'll have to double check when I get home. I'm pretty sure it said thallium, and i believe that's what the nurse who scheduled me said.
Breif desciption of the difference?
PM is ok, too. Thanks.
Sucks when you are 41, think you're in great shape ( I'm 6'4" 250 lbs) and the doc recommends stuff like this.

[MERCMAN]

I'll have to double check when I get home. I'm pretty sure it said thallium, and i believe that's what the nurse who scheduled me said.
Breif desciption of the difference?
PM is ok, too. Thanks.
Sucks when you are 41, think you're in great shape ( I'm 6'4" 250 lbs) and the doc recommends stuff like this.

Ok, a little nuclear physics here :(
Thallium 201 has a half life of 73.06 hrs. It has an affinity to go to the most active muscle in the body, hence the reason for no breakfast before. Thallium was used for years and WAS considered the "gold standard" However, Thallium does have its limitations. You have to image almost immediatly after injection. Thallium has a propensity for something called re-distribution. Let me digress, the reason for this test is to check how well your heart is being perfused with blood under stress. So they put you on a treadmill, get your heart-rate up to 85% of your mamximum rate which in your case is 152 beats per minute, inject you with the thallium, get you off the treadmill, let your heartrate return to normal, then image you. You will be on your back with both arms extended behind your head. The thallium will show up in your heart whever there is blood flow to the muscle. Now if you have ischemia(lack of blood flow) there will be no thallium in that portion of the heart. As I said before, thallium will redistribute quickly, which means that once you heart has rested for a while, it will "fill in" the areas which have previously been ischemic( but if you have had a heart-attack or MI that muscle is dead and will not fill in) This will determine if you need to have a cardiac catherization with angioplasty and/or stent placement.

Now cardiolite,,

nuclear physics again
Cardiolite is tagged to a radioactive isotope called technecium99
it has a half life of 6.2 hrs. It has a higher energy nuclear energy than Tl201(thallium) which means that you get better pics with it. The basic trreadmill portion of the exam is the same as with the Thallium. You can also do something called a "gated" study with cardiolite. Gating allows one to look at how well the walls are moving,, how well the heart is squeezing and emptying. This is important information.. The cardiolite can be done as either a one or 2 day protocol, I prefer 2 day, especially in someone over 200lbs. Cardiologists who do the test in their office like the one day protocol because of the faster throughput. more patients=more money.
Personally, I would not have a thallium done if the Cardiolite exam is available.

more info is available at www.cardiolite.com

Hope this helps, feel free to ask anything else

[FordNut]

It may be a Cardiolite stress test anyway. Thallium was the "gold standard" for years and the generic name for a stress test is sometimes stated as a thallium stress test even though it is actually a Cardiolite stress test.

Cardiolite is preferred for large people due to the higher attenuation of the body. Sometimes a dual mode test is performed, a rest/stress test. Some doctors use Cardiolite for both, others use Cardiolite for the stress test and thallium for the rest test.

[TAF]

I bet y'all NEVER thought you'd see the day, we's have "dueling Nuclear Scientists" on here :lol:

Kinda beats the heck out of the "Todd & Marty Show"...

I was waiting for you to chime-in as well, Brian....

[Haggis]

...Any surprises in store for me?

...You might be changing your Avatar to "Yankee Lover". :lol:

[O's Fan Rich]

Red Sox 5
Skankees 4
A-Rod errors on throw to second to let the game get away from the Bronx Bums!!!
Too bad it wasn't a Red Sux sweep....
Pinstripes my hairy, white, booty!!!

See you in May, Gordon!

[Paul T. Casey]

(quote) Pinstripes my hairy, white, booty!!! (quote)
Well I'm glad you're still feeling okay! Personally, I crave these Red Sox wins in April, kinda reminds me of '78. Bucky and all that!

[martyo]

I bet y'all NEVER thought you'd see the day, we's have "dueling Nuclear Scientists" on here :lol:

Kinda beats the heck out of the "Todd & Marty Show"...

I was waiting for you to chime-in as well, Brian....

Todd: They are talking about Thallium, not Lithium with which you are far more familiar....

[MERCMAN]

Todd: They are talking about Thallium, not Lithium with which you are far more familiar....

I think perhaps Todd was thinking of Thorazine, it would be a much better drug of choice for him, either that or a lobotomy, but then if he had a lobotomy, he would have to buy a Honda :lol:
Hondas are much harder to part out

[martyo]

either that or a lobotomy, but then if he had a lobotomy

Dan: Don't you know Todd's slogan: "I would rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy."

[nslatin]

Dan: Don't you know Todd's slogan: "I would rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy."
Only thing to watch out for is the nurse with the razor. She/He will be shaving parts of your chest. The murderous part is when it starts to grow back. Itches like crazy.

Neal

[martyo]

Only thing to watch out for is the nurse with the razor. She/He will be shaving parts of your chest. The murderous part is when it starts to grow back. Itches like crazy.

Neal

Speaking from experience?

[Bluerauder]

"snip, snip"

Now cardiolite,,

nuclear physics again
Cardiolite is tagged to a radioactive isotope called technecium99
it has a half life of 6.2 hrs.

Actually, technetium99 has a half-life of 211,100 years. I believe that you meant to say technetium-99m which is 6.15 hours. It is a synthetic element discovered in 1937.

Such a big difference with a little "m" --- on the MMnet :lol:

Seems there are lots of nuclear physicists hanging around this board today.

[martyo]

Actually, technetium99 has a half-life of 211,100 years. I believe that you meant to say technetium-99m which is 6.15 hours.

Then there's Todd. He has no life!

[nslatin]

Speaking from experience?
Yes. It took weeks to stop. But the test is no big deal, and all results were negative. Just precautionary.

[merc406]

A 4 hour test? I'd be toast in 10 minutes :lol: :lol:

Where's my Valium? :rasta:

[TAF]

The REAL reason Marty has been missing all the NEMO meets lately....

He's been spending a BUNCH of time at "festivals" with his pal...Spongebob.

http://www.barefootpete.com/pete/ratcatcher/brainondrugs.jpg

[MERCMAN]

Actually, technetium99 has a half-life of 211,100 years. I believe that you meant to say technetium-99m which is 6.15 hours. It is a synthetic element discovered in 1937.

Such a big difference with a little "m" --- on the MMnet :lol:

Seems there are lots of nuclear physicists hanging around this board today.


My bad,,, of course you are right!!!

[MarauderMike]

It wasn't the nurse shaving that was a problem, it's when she used the Scotch-Brite to make sure the lead attachments stick that was a bugger!
Good luck on the test, it's no biggie.

[RF Overlord]

then some radioactive die gets put in ,
Any surprises in store for me?

Yeah...did they tell you WHERE the dye gets put in? :eek:

Seriously, Rich...I had one of those...it's more boring than anything else...you wait to go in, you wait for the injection, you wait for the treadmill, you wait for the scan...4 hours is about right...and when it's all done, they won't tell you anything, so you wait for your doctor to call...

...but otherwise, nothing to it...don't worry...

[Bigdogjim]

The REAL reason Marty has been missing all the NEMO meets lately....

He's been spending a BUNCH of time at "festivals" with his pal...Spongebob.

http://www.barefootpete.com/pete/ratcatcher/brainondrugs.jpg


NEMO who?? I though this died :nono: :shot: :argue:

[Bigdogjim]

Rich: I have been doing this test every year for about 14 years now.

A while back they could not find a treadmill to hold my weight.(350)

Now it's not a problem!

And when the hair starts to grow back you'll itch like a man on fuzzy tree:):):)

[O's Fan Rich]

I got a call this morning that their camera was down and I need to reschedule the test.
More waiting.

[MERCMAN]

I got a call this morning that their camera was down and I need to reschedule the test.
More waiting.

Kinda like the Armed Services,,, Hurry up and Wait :lol:

[merc406]

[QUOTE=MarauderMike]It wasn't the nurse shaving that was a problem, it's when she used the Scotch-Brite to make sure the lead attachments stick that was a bugger!



OMG!!!!! Scotchbrite!! :lol: you must be shiny or somethin. Ouch :bigcry: :censor:

[Donny Carlson]

I got a call this morning that their camera was down and I need to reschedule the test.
More waiting.
Oh goody, more good stuff for the gallery!!!

[O's Fan Rich]

Never gave that a thought Donny, hmmmmm.