Pacemaker and ICD patients Can Safely Receive MRI Scans With Proper Supervision, New Study Finds

The study found that clinically-indicated MRI tests are safe and do not need to be withheld in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices. The current limitation is that Medicare and insurance providers won’t cover the cost of MRIs for these patients because of the supposed risk — which the study disproves.

The study examined 212 scans of 178 unique patients with either pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators who underwent an MRI between Feb. 12, 2014, and March 15, 2016. Patients experienced neither primary outcomes — death nor failure of the generator or lead — nor secondary outcomes.

“The benefits for patients are enormous,” said Steve Mason, PA-C, the study’s lead researcher. “Using an MRI instead of a CT scan eliminates radiation exposure and reduces risk of renal dysfunction, all while increasing accuracy.”

Radiology and cardiology personnel cleared the study participants to be scanned, following a standard protocol developed in-house with pre- and post-MRI interrogation. Sixty-two patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators and 150 with pacemakers — 27 of whom were MRI-conditional — underwent an MRI using a General Electric 1.5 Tesla model Optima MR450w scanner.

The post-MRI device study showed there were no parameter changes nor device complications, regardless of whether their devices were MRI-conditional.

In addition to Mason, the study’s other researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute include: Allison Tonkins, MD; Jeffrey S. Osborn, MD; J.D. Ethington, PA; Jeffrey L. Anderson, MD; Ritesh Dhar, MD; T. Jared Bunch, MD; Donald L. Lappé, MD; Viet Le, PA; and Kirk U. Knowlton, MD.