Your doctor has requested a MUGA scan. The information below will answer some of the questions you may have.
A MUGA scan is a simple and painless way of taking pictures of your heart using a radioactive tracer. It gives your doctor information about how well your heart is pumping blood to the rest of the body. This measurement is called the ejection fraction of your heart.
This procedure will take approximately 1.5 hours.
When you arrive, the technologist will explain the test to you and give you time to ask any questions you may have about the procedure. The technologist will also measure your height and weight.
You will have intravenous access set up in a vein in your arm. This will be used to give you an injection of a special medication which will prepare your red blood cells to receive the radiotracer. After this injection, you will have a waiting period of about 20 – 30 minutes to allow the medication to take effect. For the next part, the technologist will withdraw some blood from the same intravenous setup. A small amount of radiotracer will be added to the withdrawn blood and will be left to incubate for about 10 min while your red blood cells are being labelled. Then, the technologist will re-inject this labelled blood back into you. There are no known side effects from this injection.
Following the second injection, you will be asked to lie down on an imaging bed and some electrodes will be attached to your chest. Then a special detector, called a gamma camera, will be placed close to your chest and will acquire images of your heart to determine how well it is functioning. We will also take some three-dimensional images of your heart. The camera does not produce radiation; it simply picks up signals (gamma rays) from the radioactive tracer which was injected. Therefore, even though several pictures are taken, you will not be exposed to any further radiation. These images will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
When the scan is complete, you may return home or, if you are hospitalized, return to your room feeling no ill effects from the examination.
- Bring your Health card.
- No special preparation is required. You will be able to eat, drink and take your medications as usual on the day of your scan.
- We would like you to dress in clothing that does not have any metal. Please refrain from wearing any jewelry. Please leave all valuables at home.
- Please notify our booking office at the time of scheduling your appointment if you have any concerns regarding claustrophobia, lying still, require a mechanical lift for transfer to the imaging bed, have a language barrier or any other special needs, so that appropriate arrangements can be made ahead to provide you with the best possible care.
Only the pinprick of the injection needle may hurt a bit. You may have had a blood test in the past. This is much the same.
The injection contains a small amount of radioactive tracer which emits gamma rays (these are similar to X-rays) which can be detected by our scanner. The radiation dose is very low and will disappear by itself after two days. The results of your scan will give your doctor useful information about your condition and will help them plan your treatment. The benefits of having the scan far outweigh any potential risk from the small radiation dose.
No special precautions are needed after the scan. If you are travelling across any borders within seven days after your scan, please ask us for further advice. Border crossings and airports have very sensitive radiation detectors which may pick up tiny amounts of radioactivity remaining within your body. We will give you a letter that you can show to customs officials at border crossings or airports.
Please tell us if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding must be interrupted for 12 hours after the exam, during which time milk should be pumped and discarded. Prepare for your exam accordingly.
A specially trained doctor will examine the pictures. This is normally done soon after the end of the scan. A report is then sent to the doctor who asked us to do the scan. Your doctor will normally receive the report within one week. You will also have access to the report on MyChart as soon as it is released.
If you have questions about the scan results or report, please contact your doctor directly. They are best able to interpret the report for you.
No. This test is paid for by the healthcare system. The test costs several hundred dollars, so please notify the department at 613-761-4831 if you cannot make your appointment.
If you cannot make your appointment, it is important that you notify the department at 613-761-4831 as soon as possible. Failure to make your appointment results in wasting of expensive materials that are ordered especially for your appointment and also reduces availability to other patients. Missed appointments may also result in delays of your treatments.