People with pacemakers or implantable defibrillators are often denied magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for safety reasons. Unless the devices meet certain criteria.
The pace-maker is no longer an obstacle to MRI exams. A new prospective study was performed to assess the safety of MRI with a magnetic field of 1.5 Tesla in 1509 patients with a pacemaker or an implantable defibrillator (42%).
Overall, patients underwent 2,103 thoracic and non-thoracic MRI scans, considered clinically necessary. She is published in the NEJM.
The pacing mode has been changed to asynchronous mode for pacing dependent patients. The assessment included adverse effects and changes in variables that indicate the function of the lead, the generator, and the interaction with surrounding tissue.
No major complication
No clinically significant short or long term adverse events have been reported.
In nine MRI scans, the patient’s pacemaker was reset to rescue mode. In only one case, with a pacemaker inserted for less than a month, the device reset and could not be reprogrammed. He was subsequently replaced. The most common noticeable change in device settings was a decrease in P-wave amplitude, which occurred in 1% of patients.
In the long term, the notable changes were a decrease in the amplitude of the P waves and an increase in the atrial capture threshold.
Overall, the tests are more than reassuring.
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