Thanks to patients and staff at Barts Heart Centre for highlighting the health inequality and how new technology and service innovations have allowed patients with pacemakers to undergo MRI scans when needed.

Please note, it is vitally important that any patient with a pacemaker always highlights the presence of their implanted device to MRI staff ahead of their scan, so proper procedures can be followed to ensure the MRI scan is performed safely. These procedure include changing the settings of your pacemaker immediately before your MRI scan. Undergoing an MRI scan without following these procedures is potentially very dangerous. Unfortunately, some MRI units do not yet have the ability to perform the procedures that are required to safely scan patients with pacemakers. This is a situation we are working hard to improve.