Cardiac CT & MRI scans

• Please check-in when you arrive.
• Please leave all valuables at home, especially necklaces. We will ask you to change into a hospital gown.
• For some Cardiac CT scans a nurse will assess your heart rate prior to the scan and may give medications to slow down your heart. CT scanners get the best pictures when heart beats are are less than 65 per minute.
• A technologist will bring you into the scanner room and ask you to lie down on the table. The technologist will position you for the exam.
• You will receive the contrast agent (a type of dye) through an intravenous (IV) line in your arm. The technologist or nurse will set this up.
• The table will slowly slide into the scanner. You need to lie very still while you are in the scanner to ensure that the images are not blurry. This may be difficult but is very important for clear images.
• The technologist will ask you to hold your breath several times during the exam. This is very important to get clear images. Please listen closely and follow these instructions.
• The radiologist, a doctor who specializes in reading medical images, or a cardiologist, will review your images and provide a report to the doctor that ordered the test.

• Please check-in when you arrive.
• You will not be able to wear anything metallic or bring any metallic or electronic objects into the scanner room. Please leave these items at home if possible. If you have any metallic objects, you will remove them and change into a hospital gown. At your appointment, you'll have a locker for the duration of the exam.
• You will be asked to complete an MRI safety questionnaire prior to your scan.
• A technologist will bring you into the scanner room and ask you to lie down on the table.
• Most cardiac MRI scans use a contrast agent (dye) to provide more information for the doctors. You will receive the contrast agent through an intravenous (IV) line in your arm. The technologist will set this up.
• The table will slowly slide into the scanner. You need to lie very still while you are in the scanner to ensure that the images are not blurry. This may be difficult but is very important for clear images.
• While the scanner is taking pictures, it will be extremely noisy. We will provide you with earplugs and/or noise cancelling headphones to protect your hearing.
• The technologist will ask you to hold your breath regularly throughout the examination. You will hear the breathing instructions through your headphones. The technologist will be able to hear your responses.
• During the exam you will have an emergency call bell to hold onto. This is there for you in the event of an emergency and you need the technologist to bring you out of the scanner.
• A radiologist (a doctor who specializes in reading medical images) or cardiologist will review your scans. They will send a report to the doctor(s) involved in your care.

Please contact and inform your patient of their medical imaging appointment date, time and preparation. The patient’s exam is booked at St. Paul’s Hospital. On arrival, the patient should follow “Radiology” signs to the second floor of the Providence building.

Note to the ordering physician if beta blockers are deemed clinically safe and your patient’s resting heart rate is above 60 bpm prescribe the following medications:

50 mg Oral Metoprolol (24 hours prior to scan)

50 mg Oral Metoprolol (12 hours prior to the scan)

50 mg Oral Metoprolol (1 hour prior to scan)

An eGFR result is no longer required for CT contrast (Omnipaque 350) exams. However, if your patient has kidney disease or a kidney transplant, or has seen, or is waiting to see a kidney specialist or urologist, an eGFR within 6 months of the date of the appointment is still required.. If your patient is on dialysis, the treatment should be scheduled on the same day, after the CT contrast exam.

Please contact and inform your patient of their medical imaging appointment date, time and preparation. The patient’s exam is booked at St. Paul’s Hospital. On arrival, the patient should follow “Radiology” signs to the second floor of the Providence building.

An eGFR result is no longer required for MRI contrast (Gadolinium) exams. If your patient is on dialysis, the treatment should be scheduled on the same day, after the MRI contrast exam.