My doctor ordered a nuclear stress test but i am concern about the risks and nuclear injection?

Talk to your doc...: It is quite normal to be apprehensive about the test and potential side effect of med/material you are given. The substances often used in nuclear stress test is called thallium-201 or technetium-99 radioactive isotopes. The amount used is quite small and long-term cancer risk is less than 1 in 1000 in older adults. I recommend discussing your concern with your doc. Good luck.

Stress test...: There are 2 forms of nuclear stress... Exercise ; pharmacologic. Usually exercise is preferred if possible. Both methods use a tracer such as technetium or thallium to image the heart. You will not feel side effects from the tracer itself however it does expose you to a small amount of radiation. If pharmacologic stress test is performed, you may feel some effects from the pharm agent.

Low risks: A cardiac perfusion scan measures the amount of blood supplied to your heart muscle. Radiotracers such as thallium or technetium sestamibi are injected intravenously and travel through blood to heart muscle. Two sets of images are made during rest and exercise are compared. Indications for this study include chest pain, previous heart attack, heart surgery and coronary artery disease.