While half a million of the U.K. population has pacemakers or defibrillators, a survey of England’s acute hospitals found that fewer than half would scan these cardiac patients using an MRI.
There is a widely held notion that MRIs are not safe for patients with pacemakers because the magnet in the scanner could affect the pacemaker’s function. Physicians at the Barts Health NHS Trust in London are working to raise awareness that MRIs for these patients is safe, hoping that it could help them get important care they need when the time comes.
“There’s been two main changes in the last five years or so,” Charlotte Manisty, a consultant cardiologist at the Barts Health NHS Trust, told Channel 4 in the U.K. “Firstly, cardiac pacemaker and defibrillator manufacturers have started to make devices that are designed to be safe within an MRI environment. And secondly, we’ve got increasing evidence that even the older devices are actually safe to scan, provided rigorous safety protocols are followed.”
To watch Channel 4’s report, click the link below.
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.