During your appointment

Please hand in your consent form and questionnaire when you arrive at reception. You'll then meet with a radiographer who will discuss the paperwork you've filled in and explain the procedure in detail.  This is an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have of the procedure. You will then get changed into a gown and come through to the scan room.

We then ask you to lie down while we attach ECG lead to your chest - it may take a few minutes for the scanner to synchronise with your heart beat. An IV line will be attached to your arm with a small amount of contrast injected as a test and we will practice breathing exercises during this time.

We will then give you a puff of GTN (Nitrolingual spray) under the tongue to relax the coronary arteries and give you more contrast. You will feel a warm sensation and a metallic smell or taste as the contrast flows throughout your body, which is normal. The scan will then be performed which takes about 20 to 30 seconds and we will ask you to hold your breath during the scan.

At any time we may find that the heart rate is not in the range we would ideally like and we may give you a beta blocker (small tablets) to settle your heart rate. We then wait an hour for the heart rate to settle, before checking that your blood pressure is in a good range to continue with the scan.