On its 45th year, VRP MEDICAL CENTER is offering the latest technologies in the health sector, the NUCLEAR CARDIAC IMAGING AND MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION IMAGING TESTS at its Nuclear Medicine Department. "Nuclear cardiac Imaging is a branch of Nuclear Medicine. It is a diagnostic modality which deals with the diagnosis of cardiac diseases particularly coronary artery blood flow. We make use of radio isotopes primarily to scan the coronary artery flow of individuals suspected to have heart problems. In layman's term, we assess the blood flow of individuals to determine their heart health," says Dr. Christian Michael Pawhay, a Nuclear Cardiologist at VRP. Myocardial Perfusion Imaging (MPI) is a non-invasive imaging test that shows how well blood flows through (perfuses) heart muscles. Often called a nuclear stress test, it seeks to show areas of the heart muscle that aren't getting enough blood flow. At the monthly VRP Medtalk FB Live show, Dr. Pawhay stressed that candidates for these specialized services include patients who are suspected to have heart attacks, patients who will undergo non-cardiac surgeries and post operative patients who have had angioplasty and heart bypass procedures. "There is a process in obtaining the tests such as a clearance from a cardiologist and fasting," Dr. Pawhay emphasized. The tests are conducted using a special gamma camera that captures and scans actual images of blood flow using radio isotopes injected in patients. The procedure normally takes around 3 hours. Dr. Pawhay says the package includes a pharmacological stress test and VRP's protocol is to do all the tests In just one day. The services and equipment were launched last March 1, 2018 and is now available at VRP's Nuclear Medicine Department at the 10th floor with telephone number 464-999 local 289.