St Vincents Private Hospitals

A cardiac MRI uses magnets and radio waves to take detailed pictures of your heart and the surrounding tissues. It is a safe and effective procedure that can be used to diagnose a wide range of heart conditions including coronary heart disease, congenital heart disease and heart valve disease. Cardiac MRIs can show all the different parts of your heart including the separate chambers, valves, and muscles, including how the blood flows. The high-resolution images are designed to give an accurate measurement of how well the heart is functioning as well as provide information about any existing or potential heart condition and future treatment pathways.

How does is it work?

Cardiac MRI is a common procedure that uses huge magnet and radio waves to collect high quality pictures of your heart on a computer. The pictures collected can help detect any heart abnormalities as well as heart disease or any heart damage. It is a safe and painless procedure that lasts between 45-90 minutes. During the examination, patients will slide into a large cylinder and lie back without moving. You may be asked to hold your breath for a short period to improve the accuracy of the images. MRI machines are very noisy, but you’ll be able to wear headphones and communicate with your medical team using a microphone.