Rhode Island Hospital & The Miriam Hospital
Cardiovascular MRI
About MRI: How it Works
“As a surgeon, I find MRI is a very helpful tool to make a diagnosis. We are able to find out exactly where the veins are opening up inside the heart, what’s wrong with the valve, where the arteries are. All of these things are very, very helpful to make a precise diagnosis before the operation and during the surgery.”
Arun Singh, MD
Cardiothoracic surgeon, Rhode Island Hospital
Clinical professor of surgery, Brown Medical School
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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a combination of harmless radiofrequency (RF) waves and powerful magnets to cause hydrogen nuclei within the body’s molecules to vibrate and emit RF energy. The MRI scanner detects the energy emissions and converts them to viewable images. When diseases begin, there are changes in the body’s tissue. Because even minor changes in tissue affect the rates at which energy is emitted, many medical conditions can be detected at their very early stages. MRI is commonly used to examine the brain, spine, joints and abdomen. MRI is safe; there is no ionizing radiation and the contrast agents are non-nephrotoxic and non-allergenic.
Cardiovascular MRI
Until recently, the use of MRI in detecting heart disease was limited due to the technical challenges of imaging a moving object. Hardware advances and improvement in pulse sequence design now permit high resolution imaging of the beating heart, allowing physicians to view cardiac motion in a way not previously possible.
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