Cardiovascular Imaging

Non-invasive imaging of the cardiovascular system is provided by several modalities, including echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, and computer tomography (CT) scanning. Beth Printz, MD., PhD is the Director of Non-Invasive Imaging and Sanjeet Hegde,MD.,PhD is the Academic Director of Cardiac MRI.

The Rady Children's Hospital Echocardiography Laboratory currently performs approximately 10,000 studies each year. They included transthoracic, transesophageal, and fetal echocardiograms. The laboratory is staffed with full time pediatric-trained sonographers who perform the tests and pediatric cardiologists who interpret the tests. Our pediatric nurse practitioners provide medical monitoring during sedated echocardiograms which allows for complete evaluation on younger patients who may have trouble lying still while their study is performed. If your child is scheduled to have a sedated echocardiogram you will be contacted with instructions; it is very important to follow these instructions. In addition to studies performed at Rady Children's Hospital, our sonographers record studies in the NICUs at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital and UCSD Medical Center for interpretation by our cardiologists. Studies from other hospitals in our referral region are also sent to our cardiologists for interpretation.

A heart MRI is very helpful  in children with heart disease as it provides very detailed images, helps us assess heart function, flow within the blood vessels and cross valves without the risk of radiation. Beth Printz M.D., Ph.D ,Sanjeet Hegde M.D., Ph.D and Hari Narayan, MD are our cardiac MRI specialists. Rady Children's Hospital San Diego has a child friendly, state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, for performing cardiac MRIs, which is housed at the Sharp and Children's MRI Center inside our Acute Care Pavilion. The GE Discovery MR450, featuring the Cinema Vision system, enables kids to watch a movie or listen to music during a MRI exam. Studies have shown that entertainment during a MRI exam can soothe anxiety and minimize claustrophobia, leading to faster and better exams in children who meet the screening criteria for non-sedated studies. Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego is the only hospital in San Diego with this innovative technology. To make the process even more kid-friendly, the entire MRI suite – including the MRI itself – is decorated in a cartoon sea creature theme. Cardiac MRI studies, that do not require sedation, are also performed at the Outpatient Pavilion of Sharp and Children's MRI Center and at UC San Diego Medical Center, Hillcrest.

Rady Children's Hospital San Diego also has a state-of-the-art 64-sclice CT scanner that provides rapid and detailed imaging of our patients' hearts and blood vessels.  It was the first such CT scanner installed in a children's hospital in the U.S. Imaging specialists at RCHSD have particular expertise in minimizing the amount of radiation that children and young adults are exposed to during their CT.