What Can I Expect During a Cardiac Nuclear Stress Test?
May 01, 2025
Millions of Americans have heart disease, the leading cause of death for both women and men. Fortunately, treatment can help many people with heart disease stay healthy longer — but early detection is critical.
At Florida Heart, Vein, and Vascular Institute, our team diagnoses and manages heart disease using the most advanced technology, including state-of-the-art nuclear stress tests. In this post, learn what a nuclear stress test does, why we recommended it, and what to expect during and after your exam.
There’s no denying that combining the words “nuclear” and “stress” can make any type of test sound a little scary. But actually, nuclear stress testing is a safe, straightforward evaluation designed to provide a lot of critical information about your heart’s structure and function.
The word “stress” refers to the physical stress of exercise, not emotional stress or anxiety. A nuclear stress test measures your heart activity prior to exercise, then again after a brief period of physical activity.
Comparing these sets of data helps your doctor identify problems with your heart and the vessels surrounding it while managing your treatment more effectively.
The word “nuclear” refers to the tiny amount of radioactive dye (or tracer) used during your test. This dye helps highlight areas of your heart so they’re easier for us to see and evaluate.
Nuclear stress testing is routinely used to:
Nuclear stress tests also help us determine the cause of heart-related symptoms, like shortness of breath or chest pain.
Since stress tests involve physical activity, it’s a good idea to wear loose, comfortable clothing and comfortable walking shoes for your appointment. Before beginning your test, we place electrodes on your chest and other areas to monitor your heart’s electrical activity.
We also place an IV needle in your arm. This needle delivers the traced dye that helps your doctor see your heart and blood flow more clearly. Then, we capture an initial series of images while you’re at rest. We compare these images with the images taken during the next stage of your test: the exercise stage.
For this part, you walk on a treadmill or use an exercise bike to increase your heart’s activity. If you’re unable to exercise, we can use a special medication to safely increase your heart rate so we can observe how it responds.
Once your heart achieves a target rate, we administer more dye and capture that second set of images. Finally, you rest for a brief period before leaving the office.
There’s no downtime after your test, and your body naturally eliminates the tracer dye afterward. Drinking plenty of water speeds this process along. When we have the results of your test, we share them with you and discuss any recommended treatment options.
If you have heart disease, regular stress tests can help ensure your treatment plan stays on track as you get older or your needs change.
To learn more about nuclear stress tests and other cardiac testing we provide, book an appointment online or over the phone with our team at Florida Heart, Vein, and Vascular Institute in Zephyrhills, Lakeland, Plant City, or Riverview, Florida, today.