Why is MRI important for pacemaker patients?

50-75% of pacemaker patients will need an MRI in their lifetime² and it is the fastest growing imaging technique⁵. Older pacemakers and cardiac defibrillators (also known as ‘legacy’ devices) were not designed to undergo MRI scanning and so this meant doctors had to find alternatives. Because this often meant more invasive tests, delayed diagnosis and missing out on the best treatments, newer devices were designed so that they could undergo MRI scanning. These are called ‘MRI-conditional’ devices (more detail here).

In the NHS,  we spend over £100 millions a year on this new technology that is MRI-conditional. Yet despite this technology, over half of hospitals do not even offer this service⁴, and we still need to increase provision 50 times to match demand.

This means we are not fulfilling our obligation to achieve accessible care for over 3 million people worldwide with pacemakers and defibrillators^6,16.

“50-75% of  patients will need an MRI in their lifetime”

A growing problem

Our reliance on MRI, and people benefiting from IECDs are both rising: this need is growing by approximately 2% a year. 300 million MRIs are performed annually and it is the fastest growing imaging modality^3,15. IECD implantation is rising by 5% per year and half of this group are aged over 65 with increased stroke and cancer rates^4,5. Despite this, patients with IECDs are 44 times less likely to be referred for an MRI after a stroke⁶.

“Over half of hospitals do not offer MRI for device patients”

An early diagnosis makes clinical and economic sense

The benefit of these scans is most obvious in the acute setting, and recognised by 97% of acute NHS Trusts². MRI is unmatched for cancer, spinal cord compression, half of transient ischaemic attacks and increasingly for trauma. Successive reports from the King’s Fund and National Audit Office have highlighted this deficiency and its clinical and financial costs⁷.

Cancer remains one of our most feared illnesses affecting over one in three of us and the reason behind one third of these scans⁸. Given the cost of a late diagnosis is £4,000⁹, this has potential annual savings of over £10 million for this indication alone.

Barriers to scale and what we need

Widespread adoption of new tests typically takes around ten years. We should not be delaying important diagnosis and treatment because patients have to search the country for a hospital that will perform the standard of care.

MRI departments report three main barriers to providing this service²:

1. Lack of training
2. Concerns around risk
3. Cross-departmental logistics

We therefore need to adopt an approach that encourages service development, aligns with a regional and a national level. We should lead on these changing perceptions, together.