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.

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.
• Diseases of the heart valves.
• Diseases of the right ventricle; masses and tumors in the heart.
• Diseases of the pericardium.
• Congenital heart disease, or heart disease present at birth.
• To track changes in heart function when receiving certain chemotherapy agents during cancer treatment.

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.

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.

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.