MRI Heart scan with contrast

[SchoolsOutForEaster]

Has anyone had one who can tell me a little bit about it (honestly). I have one in the next couple of weeks and I'm so anxious, scared and worried. I've already cancelled but now I really need this test. I'm
Claustrophobic and more worried about the contrast dye being injected, can anyone tell me where it is injected and does it hurt. Thanks

I've not had an mri with contrast but have recently had the contrast for a special type of eye scan. It was largely fine, I felt slightly sick but I think that was due to nerves and anxiety mors than anything. Being anxious is crap isn't it.

They put a canula in my arm and injected the dye through there while I had to stare at a strobing camera 😳 I imagine during an mri they will put the canula in your hand for easier access and inject the dye during your scan.

I've had an mri on my head, neck, ears and eyes before, it is noisey but I just close my eyes and have a rest and try and think of something else. They give you headphones to block out the noise. You may possibly get one of the new scanners where you aren't so enclosed, they're much better than the old ones. Good luck, you will be absolutely fine.

It depends on the set up - some hospitals put the canula in your hand before you go into the scanner then someone comes in the room, they slide you out of the scanner, inject the contrast through the canula, then slide you back in. Or I've been to one where they had automated "dispenser" so the tube was already hooked up to the canula and they told me before they dispensed it. From memory I still had to be slid out of the scanner for them to do that. And I went to one where due to my horrendous veins he gave up trying to do the canula and came in and straight injected it. It doesn't hurt, you might feel the sensation of it going up your arm but to be honest, if they hadn't told me it was happening I probably wouldn't have noticed!
It's noisy but the newer scanners are quieter. You'll get earplugs and headphones to go over the top. If you want they will play music and one i went to had a video image projected onto the ceiling.
It's likely they put a cage type structure over the part of your body that's being scanned so probably across your chest and maybe shoulders. The best approach I find is to close your eyes and zone out as best you can. I actually find it weirdly relaxing now I know what happens!
They give you a button to hold throughout the scan so if you need to talk to the staff you press that and they usually talk to you between scans to tell you what's happening and how long the next one will take. It's not just one big scan, they do lots of short ones and they tend to get longer as they progress so first might take 30seconds, then there'll be a pause and the next couple might be 60s, building up to maybe 3-4 minutes.

I've had several scans with contrast, MRI and CT (breast cancer).
The contrast is delivered through a cannula. Usually the fit the cannula then scan you. Then they put the contrast in and scan again.

The contrast is the easier part IMO. It'sthe MRI itself which is tricky. They sometimes give you headphones and you can ask for an eye mask, I find that helpful as although you know you are in a confined space you can't see it.

I have had a stress cardiac MRI where they inject a drug to stress the heart (like a heart attack) which was a very weird experience. If it’s that, (they tell you have zero caffeine for 48 hours beforehand) I can tell you about that.
This was a very specialist scan and the tube was narrower than any other MRI scanner I have been in.

Thank you so much for replying. I'm so scared/nervous but I know I really need this scan. Can anyone tell me, where the cannula goes, it is in the hand or in the arm - the same place as if they were taking blood.

Don't know this will help, DD has Down Syndrome ( now adult) and has had several heart scans and is fine. They cannulate her arm as hand veins too small.
I leave the room for the procedure and they say she is brilliant. She did however say the nurse helped her take her knickers off???. On questioning her later she scathingly replied "I said necklace!" 🙄🙄.

They will probably put the cannula in the back of your hand, some people have said they feel a bit warm when the dye goes in. You lie flat on the mri table, the staff will help you get comfortable and may put foam wedges around you to keep you in the right position. The MRI machine can clunk a bit, I was offered a choice of music to be played, to drown the noise out a bit and relax me.

The cannula shouldnt hurt if it's done properly, if you are worried you can ask for them to put elma cream on the back of your hand ro numb it a bit but that takes a while to work so just delays everything.

I have had a heart MRI with contrast.

They inject the contrast through a cannula usually in the back of your hand. They will give you headphones to drown out the noise of the scanner but you won’t be able to have music as there are a lot of instructions e.g. (breathe in and hold your breath…. Breathe normally,” so that they get accurate pictures of the heart while it is functioning in all different circumstances e.g. while the lungs are functioning and so on.

IIRC the contrast is cold when it goes in, but they do warn you that they’re going to inject it, it’s not done for the whole of the MRI, just the latter part.

They give you a button to call if you have any problems, but the consultant who did mine asked me periodically if I was ok.

He was lovely, and he took me back to the ward personally afterwards.

Good luck, can I ask why you’re having an MRI?

Thank you so much for all replies, it really is helping, I'm so anxious about the whole thing.

@AlternativePerspective I'm having the mri as I have been had chest pain/pressure sensation, which has not subsided, but I Ended up in a&e in January with an abnormal ecg which cardiologist was concerned about, I since had echo and bloods and chest X-ray which have all been normal (which is reassuring) but now cardiologist is thinking it could be myocarditis or cardiomyopathy. I'm just so worried about it all, im only 37 with 3 you g children

OP, it may be worth joining the cardiomyopathy UK group on fb.There are a lot of people on there who have had both miocarditis and who now have cardiomyopathy as a result.

Remember that diagnosis is the first step towards treatment if any is required.

I myself was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy almost 5 years ago and with me it is genetic meaning I lived with it for 42 years and was oblivious.

I won’t lie, there have been some major setbacks in my health in the past 5 years,but many people can and do live completely normal lives with cardiomyopathy.

Oh IP, bless you. Re the contrast, they'll put a cannula in your ATM - so the back of your hand or perhaps the vein in your wrist on the same side as your thumb or in the vein of your elbow.

I've not had a heart a MRI but am a veteran of brain and spine scans! No-one had told me the scanner might feel claustrophobic so it came as a surprise. The next three, u told the radiographer that is felt a bit enclosed and his reasons 5 take helped. He just said 'if you find it too much, just press the button or slide out'. Sounds silly, but knowing that the choice was mine make it absolutely fine. I wasn't trapped. Does that make sense?

It'll be most, so you'll have earplugs and they'll probably offer you music to listen to. There may be a mirror above you which makes everything appear much more open.

I had several heart scans the year before last when I kept getting chronic chest pain. I had a few with contrast dye, and it felt a bit "odd" going in via the canular but certainly nothing that made me feel unwell at all. The oddness was that you could feel it going round your body, but they were so patient and helpful explaining everything. I didn't like the one machine that was during a nuclear heart scan (it clacked around you taking images) but the MRI was fine in comparison.

Luckily, my tests all came back as normal and I was diagnosed with costochondritis. Hope it all goes well for you.

So sorry, caught 'post' by mistake Please ignore that nonsense! Corrected and completed version here:

Oh OP, bless you. Re the contrast, they'll put a cannula in your arm - so the back of your hand or perhaps the vein in your wrist on the same side as your thumb or in the crook of your elbow. I've not had a heart MRI but am a veteran of brain and spine scans! No-one had told me the scanner might feel claustrophobic so it came as a surprise. The next time I told the radiographer that I'd felt a bit enclosed and his response really helped. He just said 'if you find it too much, just press the button or slide out'. Sounds silly, but knowing that the choice was mine made it absolutely fine. I wasn't trapped. Does that make sense?

It'll be noisy, so you'll have earplugs and they'll probably offer you music to listen to. There may be a mirror above you which makes everything appear much more open. The scanner may also have a flow of cool air through it. My advice would be to close your eyes, take slow deep breaths and it'll soon be over. Good luck.

I've recently had a CT with contrast dye. They warned me before they put it in that I might get the sensation of wetting myself a bit after it goes into the blood stream but not to worry etc...

Dye went in, all good, until it felt like I properly pissed myself. Like loads. I hadn't though.

You'll be fine, honestly. I had an MRI a few weeks after the CT and it was ok. Really loud and surreal, but not claustrophobic really.

I had an MRI on my spine recently it was difficult as my back was in pain but if you aren't in pain it will be easier. I did find it a bit claustrophobic but keeping my eyes shut helped.

@AlternativePerspective
Thanks for that, I've just joined the Facebook group, from reading some posts on there I didn't realise how common it is, especially with women a similar age to myself

@SchoolsOutForGood

Thank you so much for all replies, it really is helping, I'm so anxious about the whole thing.

@AlternativePerspective I'm having the mri as I have been had chest pain/pressure sensation, which has not subsided, but I Ended up in a&e in January with an abnormal ecg which cardiologist was concerned about, I since had echo and bloods and chest X-ray which have all been normal (which is reassuring) but now cardiologist is thinking it could be myocarditis or cardiomyopathy. I'm just so worried about it all, im only 37 with 3 you g children

Bless you, you will be fine, I have twice yearly CT/MRI and MRA annually some with contrast some without (I have two extremely rare disease’s both connected with the heart and one with the Aorta) I can’t add more as everyone else has covered it.

Relax and go with it, don’t be afraid to push that button especially if your feeling ‘fidgety’, I did at my last one on July 1st it was 2 hours long that time!

I’m now 40 (diagnosed at 38) with 3 smalls

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