Overview
All examinations do not involve the use of X-rays, which makes MRI a gentle method.
The department, together with the Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering of the ETH and University of Zurich, has state-of-the-art MR equipment (1.5 Tesla and 3.0 Tesla). In addition, there is a close cooperation with the Children’s Hospital Zurich for the examination of adults with congenital heart defects. In 2020, over 2000 cardiac MRI examinations were performed.
To further improve MRI technologies, the University Heart Center works closely with the internationally renowned Institute of Biomedical Engineering of the ETH and University of Zurich. In the process, more than 20 publications were published in high-ranking scientific journals last year.
Indications for cardiac MRI
- Assessment of morphology and function of the heart
- Diagnosis of circulatory disorders (ischemia) in the context of coronary artery disease (coronary heart disease)
- Identification of vital and scarred myocardial tissue after a heart attack
- Assessment of the functionality of the heart valves with regard to narrowing (stenoses) or leakage (insufficiencies)
- Imaging of the aorta and precise assessment of blood flow.
- Detection of inflammation of the heart muscle and pericardium (myocarditis, perimyocarditis and cardiac sarcoidosis)
- Diagnosis and evaluation of genetic and acquired diseases of the myocardium such as Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC), Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), and many others
- Diagnosis and follow-up of congenital heart defects, which are treated in collaboration with the local congenital heart defect clinic and the pediatric cardiology department of the Children’s Hospital.
- Evaluation of cardiac storage diseases (amyloidosis network, Fabry disease)
- Advanced diagnostics for heart failure
- Assessment of cardiac involvement in rheumatic and neuromuscular diseases
- Cardiovascular diagnostics in athletes
