Home > Encyclopedia of Medicine > Cardiac Blood Pool Scan

Definition

A cardiac blood pool scan is a non-invasive test that uses a mildly radioactive marker to observe the functioning of the left ventricle of the heart.

Purpose

The left ventricle is the main pump for distributing blood through the body. A cardiac blood pool scan is used to determine how efficiently the left ventricle is working. The scan can detect aneurysms of the left ventricle, motion abnormalities caused by damage to the heart wall, cardiac shunts between the left and right ventricle, and coronary occlusive artery disease.

Precautions

Pregnant women are the only patients who should not participate in a cardiac blood pool scan. However, the accuracy of the results may be affected if the patient moves during imaging, has had other recent nuclear scans, or has an irregular heartbeat.

Description

A cardiac blood pool scan is sometimes called equilibrium radionuclide...