Cardiac CT & MRI

Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are highly effective procedures for visualizing the heart and helping doctors understand your heart’s health. Both methods are non-invasive and do not require anesthesia. Here at Weill Cornell Medicine, our physicians use the most advanced CT and MRI technology available.

Prioritizing Your Comfort

As our patient, you will not only receive CT or MRI services using the most advanced technology and equipment, our team will also focus on your comfort. Our facilities are beautiful and designed to promote a pleasant experience.

Cardiac CT and MRI at Weill Cornell Medicine

Cardiac CT

Cardiac CT technology takes images of coronary arteries and identifies arterial blockages that would only be diagnosed using invasive testing. In addition, cardiac CT imaging can help assess your future risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Cardiac CT scans use x-rays and a computer to create high-quality images of the heart, its vessels and other structures in the chest. This safe, painless test is useful for examining the structure of the coronary arteries, cardiac chambers and blood vessels in the chest. The images produced by the CT scan can be used to detect blockages, aortic aneurysms and heart tumors (growths).

Cardiac CT scans can also be used to examine the heart and its vessels for calcium deposits, called calcium scoring. Because calcium deposits occur at sites of atherosclerosis (hardening), their presence and their size are indicative of the risk of cardiovascular disease: the more extensive the deposit, the greater the risk.

Cardiac MRI

Cardiac MRI is a diagnostic procedure that uses a combination of a large magnet, radio frequencies and a computer to produce detailed still and moving images of the heart. This non-invasive, safe method scans the body to produce information on the anatomy of the heart and its vessels, as well as moving images of the heart as it is beating. This enables the physician to detect conditions in the heart’s chambers, irregularities in the flow of blood through the heart and any cardiovascular system condition, including cardiac tumors, disease of cardiac valves, cardiac hypertrophy (enlarged heart) and others.

At Weill Cornell Medicine, we offer the most advanced cardiac MRI imaging, which can reveal areas of heart tissue that have been damaged by myocardial infarction (heart attack) and regions that are not receiving an adequate blood supply. It can also assess the heart muscle for signs of conditions, such as genetic or acquired cardiomyopathies, or if the heart is affected by other conditions, such as an autoimmune condition.