Cardiac magnetic resonance, or CMR, imaging is essentially an MRI for your heart. Using powerful magnets, it creates pictures of the coronary arteries and the heart. During this procedure, you’re placed in a chamber and surrounded by a magnetic field. The atoms that comprise the tissues in your body respond to the magnetic force, producing weak signals. A computer is used to magnify and record these signals, which are then used to create cross-section views, or slices, and three-dimensional images of your heart. The results can be produced in either motion or still pictures.
CMR can inform healthcare providers about the size and structure of the heart wall, valves, and chambers. It is also used to show your heart’s blood flow and measure your ejection fraction. Furthermore, CMR images offer healthcare providers information regarding the extent of damage retained by the heart muscle, blood flow problems, and leaking in the heart’s valves and chambers.
