Nuclear stress test cost in San Diego, CA
In San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 9 hospitals list a cash price for nuclear stress test imaging (SPECT), rest and stress studies: from $1,656.00 to $4,029.00, with a median of $3,676.40. The lowest listed price is at Paradise Valley Hospital — $2,020.40 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $3,676.40 at 95 hospitals.
Cash prices at 9 facilities across 6 cities for code 78452, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Sep 1, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paradise Valley Hospital lowest National City, CA · (619) 470-4321 NM MYOCARD SPECT MULT | $1,656.00 | $8,923.73 | $295.90–$8,923.73 | 81% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Nuclear Medicine Study Of Vessels Of Heart Using Drugs Or Exercise Multiple Studies | $2,901.80 | $5,276.00 | $348.12–$7,122.60 | 45% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Clairemont Mesa San Diego, CA MYOCARDIAL SPECT MULTIPLE STUDIES | $3,676.40 | $7,070.00 | $1,185.00–$3,525.00 | 48% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Marcos San Marcos, CA · (760) 528-6295 MYOCARDIAL SPECT MULTIPLE STUDIES | $3,676.40 | $7,070.00 | $1,185.00–$3,525.00 | 48% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Zion San Diego, CA MYOCARDIAL SPECT MULTIPLE STUDIES | $3,676.40 | $7,070.00 | $1,185.00–$3,525.00 | 48% | — source file |
| Grossmont Hospital La Mesa, CA · (619) 465-0711 HC HT MUSCLE IMAGE SPECT MULT - NM HEART PERFUSION SPECT STRESS & REST | $4,029.00 | $5,372.00 | $0.47–$4,405.04 | 25% | — source file |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital San Diego, CA · (858) 939-3400 HC HT MUSCLE IMAGE SPECT MULT - NM HEART PERFUSION SPECT STRESS & REST | $4,029.00 | $5,372.00 | $805.80–$4,834.80 | 25% | — source file |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center Chula Vista, CA · (619) 502-5800 HC HT MUSCLE IMAGE SPECT MULT - NM HEART PERFUSION SPECT STRESS & REST | $4,029.00 | $5,372.00 | $1.00–$4,297.60 | 25% | — source file |
| Sharp Coronado Hospital and Healthcare Center Coronado, CA · (619) 435-6251 HC HT MUSCLE IMAGE SPECT MULT - NM HEART PERFUSION SPECT STRESS & REST | $4,029.00 | $5,372.00 | $1.00–$3,760.40 | 25% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,656.00, median $3,676.40, highest $4,029.00 — a 2.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 8 facilities here, median $3,852.70. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 5 of 9 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What it is
This is the imaging part of a nuclear stress test. A small amount of radioactive tracer is injected, and a special camera takes pictures of blood flow to the heart muscle at rest and after exercise or a stress medicine. It is used to look for blocked heart arteries.
What the price covers
The code covers the camera images and their processing. The radioactive tracer, the stress test itself (with ECG monitoring), any stress medicine and the physician's interpretation are often billed separately.