Michael Salerno: Heart MRI Test

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine:

Heart MRI Test Can Identify Patients at High Risk of Heart Attack, Death

Coronary artery disease is the most common form of heart disease and a leading cause of death worldwide. Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or CMR, is often used to diagnose the condition, but new U.Va. research shows that CMR stress testing has an underappreciated predictive power – one that may help doctors determine the best course of treatment and potentially save patients’ lives.

“When you perform a stress test, there’s two things you want to know: First, does this person have disease that requires an invasive intervention, and, secondly, what is this person’s prognosis going to be?” U.Va.’s Dr. Michael Salerno said. “After reviewing 19 studies and more than 11,000 patients, we were able to show that the data to support the prognostic ability of stress CMR are very robust.”

– UVA Today, Josh Barney, 8/19/13

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Lipinski MJ, McVey CM, Berger JS, Kramer CM, Salerno M. Prognostic value of stress cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2013 Aug 27;62(9):826-38. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2013.03.080. Epub 2013 May 30.