Magnetic Resonance Angiogram (MRA): What To Think About

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What To Think About

• While MRA is a safe and valuable test for looking at blood vessels inside the body, it is more expensive than other imaging techniques, and it may not be available in all medical centers.
• An advantage of MRA is that no radiation is involved.
• Open MRI machines are now made so that the magnet does not completely surround you. Open MRI is useful for people who are claustrophobic or obese. But these machines are not available everywhere. Also, these machines may not be able to do all the studies needed to check for problems.
• Conventional angiogram or computerized tomography angiogram (CT angiogram) may be done to double-check abnormal results from the MRA in some types of blood vessels such as the aorta. These tests might be an option especially if surgery is being considered to treat the problem.
• MRA results may indicate an aneurysm is present when it is not (false-positive). It also may show no aneurysm when one is present (false-negative). MRA is most accurate for larger blood vessels.
• You may need to wait 6 weeks before having an MRA if you have had a stent put in your coronary arteries. This helps decrease the chances of movement of the stent by the magnet used in the MRA.

Last updated:	July 09, 2008
Author:	Robin Parks, MS
Reviewed By:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine, George Philippides, MD - Cardiology
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Tracy Landauer