Is the St. Jude Heart Valve MRI Safe?
Patients with St. Jude heart valves may have MRIs under certain conditions, explains St. Jude Medical. If a patient with a St. Jude heart valve needs an MRI, he should show the doctor his St. Jude Medical patient ID card, which contains information about safely performing an MRI.
As of 2015, MRI conditions that are considered safe for patients with a St. Jude heart valve include a static magnetic field of 1.5 Tesla or 3.0 Tesla, a maximum spatial gradient less than or equal to 3,000 Gauss per centimeter, and a maximum whole-body averaged specific absorption rate of 2.0 watts per kilogram for 15 minutes of scanning in normal operating mode, according to St. Jude Medical. Patients may print a letter from the St. Jude Medical website for their doctors outlining this information.
