MRI Gives New Hope
February 26, 2009 by jody
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
A new study in which researchers are using MRI to spot bleeding in the heart after stent surgery is giving new hope to heart attack patients.
When the artery feeding blood to the heart is blocked a heart attack occurs. The blockage not only stops the flow of blood to the heart muscle, it also stops the hearts oxygen.
In most cases when a blockage is found a metal stent is placed in the artery.
Until recently researchers were unable to tell if the patients were bleeding into the heart after the stent surgery.
In the new study, researchers used (magnetic resonance imaging) to examine bleeding inside the hearts of 15 individuals who had recently suffered a heart attack. (They could spot areas of bleeding due to the magnetic effects of iron, which is present in the blood.)
Thanks to the study our health care providers will have more insight as to the damage caused by heart attacks, and the best treatments for individual patients.
Lead study author Declan O’Regan, of Imperial College’s MRC Clinical Sciences Center.
