MRI's

I have a Biotronic pacemaker. My Dr. is recommending a MRI of my cervical spine and brain due to some neck pain and headaches. Has anyone ever had anything like this done with a pacemaker. It is kind of scary.

6 Comments

Another Suggestion...

by Pookie - 2010-01-24 02:01:10

Hi. Why don't you first start off with a CT scan of your cervical spine & head. And then there is always the CT
Arthrogram which uses dye...if you're not allergic.

I have a pacemaker (5 yrs now) and I have had head pain (not headaches) and neck/jaw pain for over 10 yrs and was finally diagnosed with Eagles Syndrome a few months ago. Now I am awaiting surgery. That doctor, the ENT, initially wanted to give me an MRI but quickly said NO WAY because of my pacer. So we went with the CT Scan.

I also developed severe left shoulder pain back in 2003. It started ever so slightly just prior to the pacer (2004), then it got worse and worse, then it really got my attention when I fell down a flight of steps in October. Just found out thru a CT scan & ultrasound that I have a 50% torn rotator cuff. That doctor also wanted to give me an MRI but quickly said NO WAY the second I told him I have a pacemaker.

Personally, I'd start off with the CT scan and then take it from there. Better safe than sorry. Most pacemakers and MRIs don't mix.

Stupid question on my part, but the doctor who wants to give you an MRI...does he even know you have a pacemaker????????

I'd get several opinions before jumping in to an MRI.

Pookie

No MRIs

by golden_snitch - 2010-01-24 05:01:20

Hey there,

as Bill said it depends on the pacer model and also the pacer leads you have. From my knowledge the Biotronik Evia is safe for MRIs but the leads are not, yet. Medtronic has a model, too, the Advisa DR MRI SureScan pacing system but it hasn't been approved in the U.S., yet. The thing is that the leads need to be MRI-safe, too. So I guess patients that will be the first ones to benefit from such a system are pacer newbies.

As long as you have a "normal" pacer you are not allowed to have MRIs. But you can have a CT, and there are some very advanced CT machines available today. I had a cardio CT with contrast dye last year, and it actually showed a 3D model of my heart, the coronary arteries, my epicardial pacer leads etc.

Best wishes
Inga

I didn't

by Tracey_E - 2010-01-24 07:01:23

My dr told me there are some new pm safe mri machines that would be ok if done in this particular hospital on this particular machine. I asked my radiologist, he emphatically said no way. Radiologists are split over if it's safe or not and he's firmly in the not safe camp. As Inga said, even if you have one of the mri-safe pm's, the leads are the issue. The mri will not hurt the pm, true, but the leads may damage your heart. Unless you have safe leads also, I would request a different test. If you have the safe pm, it's possible you also have safe leads but I would double and triple check that first.

missing word

by Tracey_E - 2010-01-24 07:01:56

radiologist friend! not someone I know professionally, my friend's husband.

No, But Maybe

by Bill-2 - 2010-01-24 12:01:16

The Biotronik Evia pacemakers are designed to be MRI-conditional, and BIOTRONIK is planning to launch a new pacemaker-lead system that will be MRI-compatible under specific conditions during the first half of 2010. For more information contact: www.biotronik.com

Personally I wouldn't go within 50 feet of an operating MRI machine with my Medtronic pacemaker.

Work with Radiologists

by bgarza - 2010-01-26 03:01:40

I work in a Radiology Department and it is a definite "No" for MRI's. We carefully screen all patients and the #1 question is: Do you have a pacemaker? If the answer is yes, then they are referred for other studies such as CT or Nuclear Medicine. It all depends on what they are looking to verify. Our MRI suite is located outside the main hospital and I don't visit them anymore. I agree with Pookie, make sure they really understand that you have a pacemaker. - Blanca

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In fact after the final "tweaks" of my pacemaker programming at the one year check up it is working so well that I forget I have it.