What is a SPECT test for the heart?

What is a SPECT test for the heart?

SPECT locates areas of the heart muscle that have inadequate blood flow compared with areas that have normal flow. Inadequate blood flow may mean that coronary arteries are narrowed or that a heart attack has occurred. It is a noninvasive imaging scan that exposes you to radiation.

What does a SPECT scan cost?

SPECT scans, without insurance coverage, can cost over $1,000.

What type of disease does a SPECT scan diagnose?

A single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scan is an imaging test that shows how blood flows to tissues and organs. It may be used to help diagnose seizures, stroke, stress fractures, infections, and tumors in the spine.

How long does a SPECT scan take?

Your scan will take approximately 30 minutes. During this time you will be required to lie flat on your back, without moving. Using a special nuclear medicine camera, pictures of your brain will be obtained.

What is SPECT Imaging?

A single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) scan lets your doctor analyze the function of some of your internal organs. A SPECT scan is a type of nuclear imaging test, which means it uses a radioactive substance and a special camera to create 3-D pictures.

Why do I need a SPECT scan?

While imaging tests such as X-rays can show what the structures inside your body look like, a SPECT scan produces images that show how your organs work. For instance, a SPECT scan can show how blood flows to your heart or what areas of your brain are more active or less active.

Are SPECT scans accurate?

Sensitivity was 86%; specificity, 73% and the positive predictive value was 92%, with an accuracy of 83%. The authors concluded that SPECT assists in the early and late diagnoses of AD and in the differential-diagnosis of the dementias when there is a complicated or confusing clinical picture.

How accurate is a Spect scan?

The results of the study showed SPECT diagnoses were true-positive in 37, true-negative in eight, false-positive in three, and false-negative in six patients. Sensitivity was 86%; specificity, 73% and the positive predictive value was 92%, with an accuracy of 83%.

Does a Spect scan show Alzheimers?

SPECT scanning is useful in the diagnostic assessment of Alzheimer disease if standardized and semiquantitative techniques are used. SPECT does have diagnostic value, particularly in differentiating Alzheimer disease from frontotemporal dementia and normal control subjects.

What is the purpose of a Spect scan?

What is a CT PET scan?

A procedure that combines the pictures from a positron emission tomography (PET) scan and a computed tomography (CT) scan. The PET and CT scans are done at the same time with the same machine. The combined scans give more detailed pictures of areas inside the body than either scan gives by itself.

What can SPECT diagnose?

A SPECT scan of the heart is a noninvasive nuclear imaging test. It uses radioactive tracers that are injected into the blood to produce pictures of your heart. Doctors use SPECT to diagnose coronary artery disease and find out if a heart attack has occurred.

How does SPECT work?

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a form of non-invasive nuclear imaging used in order to determine how organs inside the body work. The scan can be used to illustrate how, for example, the blood flows into the heart and chemical reactions that are happening in the body.

What is SPECT scan?

Purpose of Test. SPECT scans can be used for a variety of purposes,which is why they’re readily available at most hospitals,clinics,and imaging centers.

  • Risk and Contraindications.
  • Before the Test.
  • During the Test.
  • After the Test.
  • Interpreting Results.
  • Follow-Up.
  • What is a SPECT brain scan?

    SPECT measures blood flow and activity patterns. It looks at how the brain works. It’s similar to positron emission tomography (PET) scans, which looks at glucose metabolism. When using SPECT imaging, physicians look for three things: Areas of your brain that are low in activity, and