Home > Encyclopedia of Medicine > Technetium Heart Scan

Definition

The technetium heart scan is a noninvasive nuclear scan that uses a radioactive isotope called technetium to evaluate blood flow after a heart attack.

Purpose

The technetium heart scan is used to evaluate the heart after a heart attack. It can confirm that a patient had a heart attack when the symptoms and pain usually associated with a heart attack were not present; identify the size and location of the heart attack; and provide information useful in determining the patient's post-heart attack prognosis. The scan is most useful when the electrocardiogram and cardiac enzyme studies do not provide definitive results—after heart surgery, for example, or when chest pain occurred more than 48 hours before the patient was examined. It is also used to evaluate the heart...