MRI s

Has anyone had an MRI after having their pacemaker implanted? I had heard there was no "safe" way one coudl be performed on us, however my Oncologist wants me to have a brain MRI. Worried about the possibility of some issue he has ordered a CT and PET for tomorrow. In the mean time, he is contacting my Cardio to see if there is a safe way to perform an MRI.
Thanks for any comments or suggestions, Jean

4 Comments

MRI

by ElectricFrank - 2009-05-17 09:05:30

It is generally not considered safe to have an MRI if you have a pacemaker. One of the problems is heating of the leads which can actually burn a vein or heart wall.

There is some work being done to solve the problem. You might contact your pacemaker manufacturer. They are the ones that really know. Their support phone number is on the card they give you to carry.

frank

No

by Tracey_E - 2009-05-17 10:05:19

There are some new mri machines that are supposedly safe for pacemakers. My cardiologist said that under the proper supervision it would be safe, but I have a friend who's a radiologist and he was strongly opposed to it. He said the pm will be fine, but the leads can literally fry our heart. They are working on new pm generators and leads that are compatible with mri's but that won't help those of us with the old leads. I would be very very wary.

oops spell error

by skye - 2009-05-18 07:05:05

Dr said ok but I was wary.... sorry type faster than I think!

dont do it!

by skye - 2009-05-18 07:05:29

I actually has an ortho Dr tell me it was nbut I was wary so had him call the Diagnostics center... they said NO WAY!!! said it would cause fatal injury to the heart, spoke to my EP and he concurred no MRI ever!!!!

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