Magnetic Resonance Imaging

(Also called MRI)

Overview

There are several diseases of the heart that may be detected by MRI, including, but not limited to, the following:

• atherosclerosis (Also called coronary artery disease.) - a gradual clogging of the arteries over many years by fatty materials and other substances in the blood stream.
  
  
• aneurysm - a dilation of a part of the heart muscle or the aorta (the large artery that carries oxygenated blood out of the heart to the rest of the body), which may cause a weakness of the tissue at the site of the aneurysm. In extreme cases, the aneurysm may rupture, which is an emergency situation, due to rapid blood loss from the blood vessels.
  
  
• cardiomyopathy - an enlargement of the heart due to thickening or weakening of the heart muscle.
  
  
• congenital defects - defects in one or more heart structures that occur during formation of the fetus. Some examples of these defects include the following:
  
  
  • ventricular septal defect - a condition in which there is a "hole" in the wall between the two lower chambers of the heart. This is the condition sometimes referred to as "blue baby," because the unoxygenated blood flows into the left ventricle and is pumped out to the body with the oxygenated blood.
    
    
  • transposition of the great vessels - a condition in which the two large blood vessels coming out of the heart (the aorta and the pulmonary artery) are reversed.
    
    
  • tricuspid atresia - a condition in which the tricuspid valve (one of the four valves of the heart) is missing.
    
    
• congestive heart failure - a condition in which the heart muscle has become weakened to an extent that blood cannot be pumped efficiently, thus causing buildup (congestion) in the blood vessels, lungs, feet, ankles, and other parts of the body.
  
  
• pericarditis - an inflammation or infection of the sac that surrounds the heart.
  
  
• valve disease - malfunction of one or more of the heart valves may cause an obstruction of the blood flow within the heart.

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