Friday May 228:30am Myocardial Perfusion Imaging (Dobutamine Sestamibi)
Friday at last! I was dreading this test for some reason yet it turned out to be quite simple. It was a little different from Wendy's.
This test shows the degree of blood flow in the various arteries supplying the heart.
They first hooked me up for an EKG, checked my BP and gave me an injection. I was then put under the camera for pictures of my heart. This is where you lay flat with your hands crossed over your head and you don't move for twenty minutes.
I was then allowed to go off for an hour and have something to eat and drink (NO COFFEE YET!!!).
The next part involved laying flat hooked up to a BP machine. I also had wires stuck to my chest which showed my heart rhythm on a monitor. I was put on an IV to give me medication (Dobutamine) to put my heart under stress. My normal HR is around 88 at rest and they wanted to bring it up to around 140. The injection does this with no strain on the lungs. In other words it's like being on a treadmill going full tilt yet laying down quietly to do it.
The only side effects I experienced were tingling in my legs which moved up into my chest. This was normal.
It took about 15 minutes to get my HR up to around 135 and that satisfied them. My heart was pounding pretty good by then.
At that point I was given an injection of Nuclear stuff which would proceed to settle in and around my heart. Then I was taken for another set of pictures, hands crossed over my head and no movement for twenty minutes. At that point I was so tired I almost fell asleep on the table!
After this we were free to go and it was only 12:30! Took off for the parking lot, hit a Tim Horton's for my double double and headed for home to see my kitties!
The only thing that ticked me off was the literature that was given to me before hand told me to stop my Uniphyll (Theophylline) three days before. I became quite short of breath this morning and that's what I attribute it to. The technician said I didn't need to stop it
I guess I was given the wrong instructions. It's something I'll mention to the Transplant Coordinator.
Now I'm home and really happy to be here.
I want to thank everyone who has been rooting for me. It's been great having your support when I know that a lot of you are having problems of your own.
Thanks from the bottom of my heart!
Toni