Cardiac MRI is a relatively new imaging modality for the heart. Although MRI has been around since the 1970's, it wasn't until the late 1990's, in which technologic advances have allowed imaging of the moving heart to be performed. This has opened up an entirely new and exciting way to visualize the heart allowing us to see things we could only see on autopsy.
For example, patients with heart failure, with other imaging modalities, we could tell how bad the heart muscle was functioning. Now, with cardiac MRI, we can tell not only how bad the heart muscle is functioning but also why the heart muscle is not functioning properly. In other words, cardiac MRI has combined the advantages of many different tests into one. Some in the cardiology community refer to is as the "Rolls Royce" of imaging, and interestingly the reimbursement is not much more than a typical echocardiogram and less than a stress nuclear study.
In addition to the evaluation of heart failure, cardiac MRI has also recently been shown to be an excellent stress imaging modality without the exposure of radiation. It can also evaluate the large arteries in the body, including the arteries to the brain, kidneys and legs to assess for any blockages.
There is no question that the advancement of Cardiac MRI is the future for cardiac imaging and New York Methodist is proud to be the only dedicated cardiac MRI imaging center in Brooklyn.
About the Author:
Dr. John Heitner, MD is the director of advanced cardiac imaging at New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. He is a leading nuclear cardiologist with extensive training in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. He is a graduate Albert Einstein Medical College and is residency trained in internal medicine from Duke university and was fellowship trained at Emory and Duke University. He remains affiliated with Duke University’s Cardiovascular MRI Center, where he has conducted extensive research into MRI technology for stress testing. His hard work and publications in the field of cardiology have earned him accolades such as the Robert Califf Clinical Research Award at Duke University for excellence in clinical research. His extensive, high-quality training and research has put him at the cutting edge of nuclear cardiology. He helped New York Methodist Hospital become the first hospital in Brooklyn to perform Cardiac MRI, a non-invasive method for imaging the heart and has again brought them to the forefront of nuclear cardiology by offering "real time" stress MRI testing, which offers physicians an alternative for diagnosing coronary artery disease in patients who are unable to exercise because of health reasons.
VIEW THIS JOHN HEITNER - DOCTORS PROFILE NOW.
TO REQUEST THAT THIS DOCTOR ADD APPOINTMENT TIMES CONTACT US
|