MRI scans and cardiac devices
Reviewed by Arun K Sharma

There is an increasing use of MRI in many urological disorders e.g. prostate cancer and renal cancer. Many patients with cardiac pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) are denied access to MRI scans due to safety concerns. MRI is given to only 1 in 50 patients with a cardiac device. But this practice is no longer logical according to the British Cardiovascular Society and the Royal College of Radiologists. More than 95% of devices currently implanted are MRI safe. The studies in this article were conducted at Barts Heart Centre in London. Some of the obstacles identified are: 1) Doctors failing to refer such patients for MRI scanning; 2) Many hospitals still refusing to give these patients MRI scans due to outmoded ideas; 3) Lack of timely communication between radiology and cardiac teams. Hopefully things will change for the better locally, regionally and ultimately nationally.

Patients with cardiac devices should not be excluded from MRI scans, say experts.
Kmietowicz Z.
BMJ
2018;362:k3623.