The Clinique des Grangettes boasts state-of-the-art equipment for cardio-vascular radiology, in addition to conventional machines, and an MRI scanner dedicated to cardio-vascular activity.
Cardio-vascular MRI
Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-radiating technology that produces dynamic images of the heart, giving the precise anatomy of the organ and the entire vascular system of the body. Because the different tissues can be identified, this examination allows diagnosis of an inflammatory response, ischemia (pain), or a heart attack scar. In addition, it provides exhaustive and detailed analysis of the contours of the ventricles and volumes in three dimensions.
In practice, the examination is done while the patient is lying down on his or her back in the MRI machine. ECG electrodes are placed on the thorax in order to synchronise the reception of pictures with the heart beats. The examination requires placing an IV to inject either a contrasting medium (known as gadolinium), or a drug to examine the heart when it is under stress (pharmacological stress). Generally, the images are scanned during the few seconds of apnoea. The scan lasts between 30 and 50 minutes, depending on the existing pathology.