Myocardial Perfusion Scan, Stress (Exercise Thallium, Stress
Thallium, Cardiac Nuclear Imaging, Adenosine Thallium Scan,
Cardiolite Scan) What is a stress myocardial perfusion scan? A
myocardial perfusion scan is a type of nuclear medicine
procedure. This means that a tiny amount of a radioactive
substance, called a radionuclide (radiopharmaceutical or
radioactive tracer), is used during the procedure to assist in
the examination of the tissue under study. Specifically, the
myocardial perfusion scan evaluates the heart’s function and
blood flow. A radionuclide is a radioactive substance used as a
"tracer," which means it travels through the blood stream and is
taken up (absorbed) by the healthy heart muscle tissue. On the
scan, the areas where the radionuclide has been absorbed will
show up differently than the areas that do not absorb it (due to
possible damage to the tissue from decreased or blocked blood
flow). A stress myocardial perfusion scan is used to assess the
blood flow to the heart muscle (myocard