Regadenoson versus adenosine: A patient’s perspective

Objectives Regadenoson (Lexiscan) is an A2A adenosine receptor agonist indicated for use as a pharmacologic stress agent in myocardial perfusion imaging. Regadenoson was first approved in April of 2008; however, Ministry St. Joseph’s Hospital did not begin performing regadenoson stress tests until April of 2010. The following study was conducted to compare a patient’s perspective of regadenoson versus adenosine as well as the symptoms of each test.

Methods Data was collected from questionnaires on over sixty-five patients who had previously undergone an adenosine sestamibi and were undergoing a regadenoson sestamibi. Patients were asked if they remembered the previous adenosine stress test and about any symptoms they experienced. They were then asked about any effects of the regadenoson and to compare the regadenoson to the adenosine overall.

Results Out of the 50 patients who remembered their previous adenosine stress test, 74% of them favored the regadenoson. Symptoms were experienced with both types of pharmaceuticals. The most common side effect with regadenoson patients was headaches whereas chest pain was more common in patients given adenosine.

Conclusions Patients favored regadenoson over adenosine and had fewer symptoms comparatively