Update on MRI safety in patients with stents, prosthetic heart valves and cardiovascular implantable electronic devices.

Due to recent technical developments, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become one of the most attractive imaging modalities for a multitude of pathologies, offering unique information with the potential to modify diagnosis and treatment strategies in a cost-effective manner. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in particular has dramatically evolved to a reliable diagnostic tool bringing unique information for virtually all cardiovascular pathologies1. Patients with coronary stents, prosthetic heart valves or pacemakers and others cardiac implanted electronic devices (CIEDs) have been historically denied the opportunity to undergo clinically indicated MRI scans. As the population ages, it has been suggested that 50% to 75% of patients with CIEDs will have a clinical indication for MRI examination in their lifetimes2,3. As we are facing a growing need for MRI scans in the large population of patients with implanted cardiac devices, it is crucial to accurately inform healthcare professionals about the actually low risk of performing MRI in these patients. As a rule of thumb, virtually all patients with coronary stents, prosthetic heart valves, annuloplasty rings and MR-conditional CIEDs can safely undergo MRI scanning at 1.5 tesla, and some of them at 3 tesla3-5. Moreover, recent studies have led the scientific societies to allow MRI scanning even for patients with non-conditional CIEDs under special circumstances. This review aims to inform physicians of all specialties on how to safely indicate clinical MRI in patients with implanted cardiovascular devices based on an evidence-based approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]