New method for diagnosing heart disease now offered at Health Sciences North

HSN has launched a cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) service. HSN joins Toronto, Ottawa, London, and Hamilton as centres in Ontario which offer this highly specialized service says a news release.

HSN will focus its cardiac MRI service on suitable patients who have been admitted to hospital with heart disease that requires a detailed understanding of the structure and function of the heart, as well as a detailed non-invasive analysis of the heart tissue. Typical examples are forms of inflammatory heart disease or patients who have suffered a heart attack.

A multidisciplinary team including a cardiologist, radiologist, and medical imaging technician will take an MRI scan of a patient’s heart. The MRI will provide precise imaging of the heart to determine the extent of damage caused by the heart attack or inflammatory heart disease.

Dr. Andreas Kumar is the lead cardiologist for this service. Dr. Kumar was part of the team that launched Canada’s first cardiac MRI program in Calgary in 2005. Dr. Grynspan is a cardiac trained Radiologist who teamed up with Dr. Kumar to bring this service to Sudbury.

“This is the gold standard for assessing heart function, and truly the only non-invasive way to analyze heart tissue for damage or the extent of heart disease,” says Dr. Kumar. “Cardiac MRI means a more accurate diagnosis for patients and therefore better treatment.”

The Cardiac MRI service relies on the expertise of medical imaging technicians, who are skilled at using the machine. Radiologists and cardiologists,  who have the knowledge regarding the physics of MRI, guide the MRI scan of the heart, reads the results. The cardiologist then develops a treatment plan for the patient.

“This service truly makes HSN a regional leader in clinical cardiology and in radiology. Not only it is better for patients, but it creates a new paradigm for clinical cooperation among specialists, plus it’s a great tool for recruitment because it is such an advanced use of MRI,“ says Dr. Chris Bourdon, VP Medical & Academic Affairs.

“The introduction of cardiac MRI is the latest step in a long tradition of innovative cardiac care at HSN,” says Dominic Giroux, HSN’s President and CEO. “This is wonderful news for our patients, and another example of providing leading-edge care closer to home.” Dr. Henderson, Medical Director and Chief of Cardiology, Cardiologist, Cardiodiagnostics.