Exams and Treatments

Share

Aa-+

Right-to-Left Shunt Studies

Objectifs 

Detect and quantify any abnormal opening or passage that allows oxygen-poor blood to move from the right heart cavities to the left heart cavities without going through pulmonary circulation.

Duration 

30 minutes

Preparation 
  • Take your medication as per usual. There is no specific preparation for the exam.
  • Have an updated list of your medications on hand when you make the appointment and when you come in for the exam.
  • Inform the care team if you are pregnant, may become pregnant, or are currently breastfeeding.
Steps 

Patients lie down on their backs and are placed under a camera. The technologist injects them with the radioactive tracer and takes a series of simultaneous images for 1 minute. The camera then moves above and below the patient from the head to the feet for a duration of approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

Follow-up and side effects 
  • Patients can go back to their normal activities. The exam result is sent to your treating physician.
  • If you are planning a trip outside of the country in the weeks following the exam and will have to go through AIR OR GROUND customs, it is important to advise the technologist. The presence of a radioactive tracer in your body may be detected at customs. You will therefore be given a document to confirm that you underwent a nuclear medicine exam.
Contact 
Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine