Ask the doctor: Are there noninvasive alternatives to a nuclear stress test?
The most common imaging tests are the nuclear stress test and the stress echocardiogram. The nuclear stress test uses a radioisotope to make blood flowing through the coronary arteries appear on a scanner, so it exposes you to radiation. A stress echocardiogram uses ultrasound to "see" the motion of the heart. When blood flow through the coronary arteries is compromised, part of the heart wall moves differently — a change that an experienced echocardiographer can detect. A stress echocardiogram does not use ionizing radiation; the small amount of energy delivered by medical ultrasound has never been shown to harm tissues.
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