"Outpatient Cardiac MRI Scan"

Anything else?

I am writing this so others going in for the Cardiac MRI scan can better understand what is going to happen to them.

Apointment booking staff were happy to confirm my apointment by email - excellent.

I arrived on time and the staff were helpful, caring and well rehearsed at their respective roles. The nurses took charge and led me through the process (needles, tubes) and then the doctor spoke to me and explained what would happen, he candidly told me which part of the test would not be a nice experience for me which was very open and good of him. Finally they put me in the MRI scanner and cabled me up. A strange experience with not a lot of room and much clanking and whirring. (If you are claustrophobic then MRI is not for you). Had headphones for the operator to tell me what to do (and reduced the clanking); breath, stop, breath, stop, etc, etc. Got boring until they got to the stress test. Nasty, but they had to do it to see what's wrong. They stopped when I was in distress, calmed me down and then we continued the rest of the test. At the end it was a little anti-climactic so I asked to see the images. Wow, they showed me video images of my heart beating inside my chest. Frankly I was amazed at the pictures and video they had taken of things inside me. In previous times this would be witchcraft, now its everday science.

Overall I don't think I could have been in better hands. Well done to the staff involved and well done to the trust as I only had to wait about tem weeks for an MRI appointment.