Three Maine hospitals now perform cutting-edge heart procedure

Courtesy / CMMC Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, with the Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute in the background.

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By Staff

Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute, at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, has become the third hospital in Maine to use cardiac MRI — a technique for capturing images of the heart that is more accurate and detailed than other procedures.

Using cardiac MRI, doctors can easily and accurately test inflammation of the heart muscle or abnormal thickness in cardiac anatomy, according to a Central Maine Healthcare news release.

The procedure is also performed by the Maine Heart Center, at Maine Medical Center in Portland, and by Cardiac Wellness of Maine, at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Cardiac MRI doesn't replace traditional echocardiography and cardiac CT procedures, but supplements them — its images are so crisp and clear that it helps with difficult diagnoses, according to CMH. Unusual thickness of the heart muscle or other abnormalities, such as scarring from a heart attack, often show up better in a cardiac MRI image, leading to more accurate measurement of tissue damage.

“This is the future of cardiac imaging,” said Dr. Steve Hobson, of CMHVI. “It is the gold standard, and gives us the ability to determine why a heart has changed. No other imaging type provides this type of depth and understanding.”

The addition of cardiac MRI in Lewiston means area residents no longer have to travel long distances or out of state to benefit from the sophisticated diagnostic tool, the news release said.

Another benefit is that no radiation is used in the procedure. The cardiac MRI patient lies flat in a strong "magnet," or MRI machine, which emits radio-frequency pulses. Most patients are given an intravenous contrast agent to enhance the image quality.

Based on the interaction of the pulses, the molecules in the heart and the magnetic field, images of the heart are created and displayed on a computer. Software manipulates the images, providing in-depth information about the patient’s heart.

Hobson and his colleague Dr. Beatrix Ramos, who have both completed post-fellowship training in advanced imaging, will work with radiology specialists at CMHVI to provide the service.

Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute was recently named one of the top 50 cardiovascular hospitals in the United States by IBM/Watson Health.

The hospital was also the only one in Maine and one of only two in New England to participate in a national study of TAVR — a potentially life-saving procedure to replace heart valves. Results of the study, which could help reduce the need for open-heart surgery, were published by the New England Journal of Medicine in March.