Lung ventilation perfusion (VQ) scan

[TomorrowToday]

Suspected blood clot in the lung and I'm getting the Lung ventilation perfusion (VQ) scan in a few days.

I also have GERD due to hitital hernia, which meant a lot of coughing and being breathless when exercising.

Is this scan safe in pregnancy (they say it is) and would it be useful for my GERD?

I've been tested for asthma, I don't have it. Exercising is awful with gerd.

I had to have one a few weeks ago for the same reason. I was told the minor risks of the scan are far outweighed by the risk of having a blood clot. The radiation from the scan is approximately what you’d encounter in a normal 10 week period of going about your normal life.

It was however a bit strange going into a ward where there were signs saying no pregnant women allowed!

Hope the scan goes ok!

Cant comment on GERD unfortunately as I’ve not experienced it.

Thank you.

Hope there was no clot for you x

I had to do a pregnancy test at A&E... despite them knowing I was pregnant, lol

Hi there,

Going through similar.

Absolutely terrified about exposing baby to radiation (no matter how much people say it's a low dose) I just wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to baby.

How did your scan go?

Hope you're all good x

I had a traditional CT instead of VQ, turns out I did have blood clots. The baby is now 1.5 and totally fine

Can you have a CT instead? I was given the choice a couple of weeks ago and went with the CT x

CT is higher radiation, but otherwise a much better scan. You're probably being offered vq instead because your pregnant and they want lower dose.

I work in a Nuclear Medicine department and just wanted to reassure you that the VQ scan is a good idea. The radiation dose to you and the baby is low and similar to other radiation doses you might be exposed to without even thinking about it (like going on holiday to Cornwall where background radiation levels are much higher than the nation average).

It would be a far bigger risk to not get a proper diagnosis as the wrong treatment could be very dangerous to both you and baby.

Regarding the CT option, this is also a really good test and is more easily available that VQ (ie 24/7 rather than 9-5, 5 days a week) and is sometimes used for pregnant patients for that reason. It does give a slightly higher radiation dose so VQ is used in pregnancy when possible.

If you have concerns speak to the team in the imaging department they should be more than happy to talk to you about any worries you may have.

Good luck.

I was warned off the CT scan.

I think everyone gets given different recommendations regarding CT and VQ tests. My hospital seem to favour to VQ

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