What Is Cardiac Perfusion Imaging?

Cardiac perfusion imaging is a medical test that uses a radioactive substance, known as a tracer, to assess the flow of blood to the heart muscle.

Generally, cardiac perfusion imaging is done after an exercise/treadmill stress test. For patients who are unable to exercise adequately, it may be done after injection of a drug that mimics the effect of exercise on the heart. This is known as a pharmacologic stress test.

The drug most commonly used for pharmacologic stress testing is dipyridamole (Persantine®). Another drug is adenosine (Adenocard®).

(Other terms often used to describe cardiac perfusion imaging include: myocardial perfusion scan, cardiac nuclear imaging, and radionuclide stress test. Based on the specific tracer that's used, it may also be called Thallium, Cardiolite, or Myoview scan.)

What does it show?