Cardiac MRI

Cardiac MRI

Get a detailed and accurate diagnosis for your heart and vascular condition with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at Stamford Health.

Stamford Health is the only healthcare provider in Fairfield County to offer this unique diagnostic cardiovascular service to our community.

What’s a Cardiac MRI?

Cardiac MRI is a safe and non-invasive imaging test. It produces detailed pictures of your heart's structure and blood vessels to detect or track heart conditions.

Do I Need a Cardiac MRI?

Your doctor may recommend a cardiac MRI to diagnose a variety of cardiovascular disorders such as:

• Cardiomyopathies, or diseases that affect and weaken the heart muscle such as: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), sarcoidosis, amyloidosis, changes in the heart muscle after heart attack.

• Congenital heart disease, or heart disease present at birth

• Diseases of the heart valves.

• Diseases of the left and right ventricle.

• Masses and tumors in the heart.

A cardiac MRI can also help to:

• Evaluate the structure and function of your heart
• Look for changes in the heart after a heart attack or detect limited blood flow to the heart from narrowed or blocked arteries
• Monitor your heart’s health
• Track changes in congenital heart disease
• Determine the best treatment plan for your heart condition

Preparing for Your Test

Follow your doctor’s instructions for preparing for your cardiac MRI. Leave all jewelry and other valuables at home or remove them before your cardiac MRI scan.

What to Expect

An MRI test includes multiple runs (sequences), some of which may last several minutes. During your test, you will lie on the MRI scanning table. A Stamford Health specialist will perform your exam while working at the computer outside of the room.

• You may receive an intravenous catheter (IV line) into a vein in your hand or arm that injects the contrast material to detect diseased tissue.
• The MRI machine creates images and sends them to a computer.

Results

Cardiologists and radiologists will review the scan results carefully and send information back to your primary care physician and/or cardiologist.

If you have questions about your cardiac MRI, follow up with your primary care doctor or cardiologist.