DSE is a diagnostic procedure, which combines the use of:

This procedure will allow your cardiologist to assess the capacity, the viability, the reserve and the function of the heart muscles under a stressful situation. It is commonly used in patients who cannot undergo exercise stress test (e.g. painful knees). The accuracy in detecting coronary artery disease is higher than exercise stress test. DSE is also useful in assessing whether certain parts of the heart are still alive after heart attack. The detection of viable heart muscle is important as it may assist in further management. Your cardiologist will decide if this test is appropriate for you.

Preparation for DSE

You need not wear any exercise attire, as you will not be asked to run on a treadmill. Instead, you will be given medication through an infusion into the vein. You are not required to fast before the procedure.

How is DSE performed

During the procedure you will be attended by a DSE team, which includes your cardiologist, a technician and a cardiac nurse.

You will be assisted to lie on a couch. Your nurse will insert a branulla (intravenous access line) for you before the procedure. Your cardiologists will use a probe over your chest wall for your baseline heart images to be reflected on the TV screen.

Dobutamine infusion will be administered via a syringe pump upon orders from your cardiologist. The rate of the infusion will be increased until your target heart rate is reached or until you begin to experience chest pain or any breathlessness. During the test you may experience fast and bounding heart beats. This is an expected response and you should not be unduly alarmed.

You will have some electrodes placed on your chest to allow your DSE team to closely monitor from the workstation your heart rate and your heart rhythm.

Further images of your heart will be scanned at different stages of the procedure and during recovery so that a comparison can be made. All images will be recalled and analyzed by your cardiologist.

The procedure does not take more than 40 minutes. The test is relatively safe, as all necessary precautions would have been taken before the procedure. As the test is performed on patients with suspected or existing coronary artery disease, there is a small possibility of a cardiac event (usually 1/8000). However, your cardiologist and your cardiac nurse will be attending you entirely throughout the procedure. Your cardiologist will be able to explain further to you before the procedure.