PET/CT

PET scans can accurately detect CAD and pinpoint areas in the heart with low blood flow. They can also help doctors find dead or injured tissue. If the tissue is still functioning and viable, our team might recommend a PCI or CABG. 

When you receive a PET scan, a radioactive tracer is injected directly into your bloodstream. These tracers are mostly made up of natural compounds found in the body, such as glucose, water or ammonia, tagged with a tiny amount of radioactive material. Once in your body, this radioactive material emits gamma rays, which are used to produce multiple images of your heart from many different angles. Computer technology then uses these images to produce a 3D image of your heart.
 

Using radioactive tracers, your health care team will examine the images and determine how well your heart is functioning based on where the tracer appears. Viable heart tissue will absorb more of the tracer than non-viable tissue. 

Since the levels of radiation produced are very small, cardiac PET scans are considered safe for most patients. Your body will process the radiation via your kidneys or stool. You should drink plenty of water to clear your system more quickly. If you're pregnant, may become pregnant or are a nursing mother, talk with your doctor before considering this test. 

If you take any medications regularly, including over-the-counter ones, tell your Mercy doctor. They may ask you to stop taking them before your test.
 

If you take insulin for diabetes, clarify with your doctor how much insulin you should take before your scan and ask what you should eat. We'll monitor your blood sugar levels during the test.

You might need to avoid select foods or drinks, like coffee or alcohol, 24 hours before your test. Four to six hours before your test, you should only consume water, not food.  

You should wear comfortable clothes that can easily be removed. Be sure to take off any jewelry, including piercings, before coming in for your test. Speak with your Mercy care team if you have claustrophobia or any anxiety caused by tight spaces. 

A PET scan is usually performed by a health care professional and a nuclear medicine technologist using specialized medical equipment. We'll take two scans of your heart during this test: one with a radioactive tracer and one without. This allows us to compare the images. Overall, the entire test lasts about one to three hours.
 

You'll lie on your back on a table that's connected to the PET scanner and a computer. This table will slowly slide into the scanner, which is shaped in a giant circle.

The technologist places electrodes, small metal disks, on your chest, arms and legs. These disks have wires that hook up to a machine that records your electrocardiogram (ECG). An ECG monitors your heartbeat throughout the test, telling the computer precisely when to capture an image.

During your test, we'll take several scans to provide enough pictures of your heart from all angles. To get the most high-quality images, it's important that you stay completely still with your arms outstretched above your head while each scan is taken.

Once your care team gets an initial picture of your heart, the radioactive tracer will be injected through an intravenous line (IV) placed in your arm. We'll then perform a second scan, recording the radioactive patterns of the tracer in your heart. This information is used to produce more images of your heart.

If you're also having a pharmacological nuclear (chemically induced) stress test done, you'll receive a medicine to increase blood flow in your heart. Your care team will monitor how well your heart absorbs the tracer before and after receiving this medicine. If you have coronary artery disease, some areas of your heart may not get enough blood during the stress test, making it harder for your doctor to observe the tracer.