MRI Stress test
The MRI stress test serves the recognition of circulatory disturbances in the heart. For the examination, the heart is exposed to artificial stress. This takes place with one of the two procedures specified in the following section, for which different medicines are used.
Examination of the blood flow in the heart muscle - Perfusion examination
The heart is “stressed” by means of a substance also produced by the body called adenosine. The blood circulation is examined via the administration of a special contrast medium with minimal side effects. The flow of the contrast medium through the heart can be traced with MRI. Delays in flow or absences of the contrast medium indicate decreased blood circulation in this region. The more severe the disturbance of the blood circulation is, the more slowly the contrast medium travels to the heart muscle, and the greater the scope of the affected region.
Analysis of the heart muscle function - wall motion analysis
The heart is stressed with a substance called dobutamine. The wall movements of the heart muscle under stress are recorded. Regions with insufficient blood circulation reserve exhibit a disturbed wall movement compared with healthy areas.
The information obtained with these procedures helps the physician in the planning of necessary treatments. The presence and/or the significance of a narrowing of the heart’s coronary arteries can thereby be assessed; consequently, the risk of a heart attack can be better estimated.
Special patient information
Special risks and side effects result from the doses of medicines during the course of the MRI stress. If one of the two variants of the MRI stress test is planned for you, please follow the corresponding link under "additional information". There you will learn what you must do to prepare yourself and also be able to download the matching patient information sheet in PDF format. For all other MRI examinations, this section is insignificant.
