Heart Imaging

At Cleveland Clinic London, our advanced heart imaging services ensure your heart is in good hands. Our team specialises in advanced echocardiography, cardiac MRI and cardiac CT.

We operate some of the world’s most sophisticated cardiac imaging equipment and interpret your results promptly and precisely. You receive an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment from the U.K.’s leading cardiovascular imaging experts.

At Cleveland Clinic London, you’ll find:

• Team approach: A dedicated team of cardiac imaging consultants, cardiac physiologists and clinical scientists performs and interprets imaging exams. They have advanced training in complex scans, such as stress echocardiography and 3D transoesophageal ultrasounds. This team works with cardiologists, radiologists and other consultants to reach a diagnosis and streamline your experience.
• National recognition: Our elite team of imaging experts includes several former presidents of prestigious UK national cardiac imaging societies. They continually research, publish their findings and lecture at some of London’s top teaching hospitals. You receive care from specialists at the top of their fields.
• Imaging for complex conditions: We offer diagnostic testing and long-term monitoring for complex coronary artery disease, heart valve diseases and advanced heart failure. Our experts can also evaluate uncommon heart muscle diseases, infections and cardiac amyloidosis. We are uniquely qualified to assess and care for any cardiovascular condition, no matter how rare.
• State-of-the-art equipment: Cleveland Clinic London features a state-of-the-art cardiac hybrid operating theatre. This unique lab combines the latest imaging, interventional and surgical technology. We use advanced imaging techniques to plan and guide a wide range of procedures for exceptional precision.
• Timely care: We offer same-day or next-day appointments for many types of heart scans, so you receive quicker results and the answers you need. Our electronic health records system also gives you, your referring physician and your imaging team instant access to your imaging results for seamlessly coordinated care.

We carefully select the imaging exams that are right for your needs. This approach eliminates unnecessary scans and reduces your radiation exposure. Whenever possible, we schedule multiple tests and even consultant consultations in a single visit. If you have any questions about your tests or what they’re for, our consultants can answer questions and guide you through the process.

Echocardiography

Echocardiography (echo) uses ultrasound (high-frequency sound waves) to create detailed, moving images of your heart’s structure and function. We offer both 2D and 3D echocardiography.

3D heart echos are available at all our locations, making it easy for you to get the tests you need. A consultant specialising in echocardiography is available 24/7 to read and interpret scans. You receive fast results, usually within 24 hours.

Our echocardiography services include:

• Strain imaging echocardiography: Strain imaging can spot some subtle cardiac abnormalities, such as heart muscle deterioration and blood clots, that conventional tests may miss.
• Contrast echocardiography: We inject a contrast dye or saline (sterilised water) into your bloodstream, allowing us to see parts of the heart that aren’t clear on a traditional ultrasound. Contrast imaging is especially useful for identifying heart defects, finding the cause of an unexplained stroke and guiding heart failure treatment decisions.
• Advanced stress echocardiography: Stress echo helps us evaluate advanced coronary artery disease and structural heart diseases. We also combine stress ultrasound assessments with cardiopulmonary exercise testing to measure how well your heart muscles and lungs work at peak exertion. We use this to diagnose problems like unexplained breathlessness or long COVID (long-term effects of COVID-19).

Our Echocardiography Team achieved departmental accreditation from the British Society of Echocardiography in all areas: Transthoracic Echo (TTE), Transoesophageal Echo (TOE), Stress Echo, Emergency Echocardiography, and Training.

This accomplishment is a recognised benchmark of quality for our cardiac imaging services and a testament to the processes we've established to ensure exceptional patient care and safety.

Cardiac CT

Cardiac CT scans use X-rays to create multiple images of your heart. We use a heart CT to:

• Find areas where your blood vessels might be blocked with plaque from atherosclerosis.
• Help with early detection of coronary disease.
• Carefully plan keyhole interventional procedures, such as transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).
• See if your heart is inflamed, infected or swollen with fluid.

Dual-source CT scanner

Cleveland Clinic London features a specialised dual-source heart CT scanner. This innovative device uses two X-ray sources to capture images of your heart in nearly half the time as a traditional CT. It also exposes you to less radiation. You experience a quicker, safer scan without sacrificing quality.

This technology is especially useful for people who have:

• High body mass index (BMI).
• Abnormal heart rhythm.
• Calcium-containing plaque in their arteries due to coronary artery disease.

These factors can make traditional CT scans less reliable. The dual-source scanner delivers the highly detailed images we need to accurately assess your heart.

Prediction of cardiovascular risk with CaRi-Heart^®

You may also benefit from an advanced coronary inflammation analysis known as CaRi-Heart^®. This innovative imaging technology uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyse your CT scans for coronary fat and inflammation. The result is a forecast of your relative risk of experiencing a fatal heart attack (based on coronary inflammation status, plaque and clinical risk factors) within the next eight years. This prediction about the likely future health of your heart and arteries helps our team better manage your care now — and down the road.

We can provide this test can in addition to our Executive Health screens or as a standalone test for self-funding patients. We also offer an additional analysis (CaRi-Plaque^®) which can provide greater detail (coronary plaque-specific characterization and quantification) to help our specialists tailor your care based on your risks and put preventative measures in place.

Fat attenuation index using CT coronary angiography

We may perform a CT coronary angiography to examine your arteries. We inject contrast dye into your bloodstream and perform CT scans to create 3D images of your heart.

A fat attenuation index can enhance CT coronary angiography. This test looks at the fat around your blood vessels (perivascular fat) to measure coronary artery inflammation. This cutting-edge test can help us predict your risk for a heart attack.

Cardiac MRI

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging uses magnets and radio waves to create highly detailed images of soft tissues in your heart, including muscles and blood vessels. CMR offers excellent clarity and is very safe since no radiation is involved. We may use CMR to help guide your treatment.

Our CMR programme is led by one of the U.K.’s foremost CMR experts who has been performing this technique since the inception of the test in the 1980s. At Cleveland Clinic London, you receive fast access to the most sophisticated CMR scanners available and timely interpretations from a world-class team.

We may use CMR to detect:

• Aortic aneurysms and dissections.
• Cardiac masses and blood clots.
• Cardiomyopathies, including thalassemia (iron overload).
• Congenital heart disease.
• Coronary artery disease.
• Heart failure.
• Myocardial infarction (heart attack) and ischaemia.
• Myocarditis and pericarditis, including long COVID.
• Pulmonary hypertension.
• Renal artery stenosis.

Interventional cardiology

In addition to using imaging tests to diagnose heart disease, we also use imaging technology to treat many heart conditions. Imaging guidance helps us perform interventional, catheter-based procedures with unparalleled accuracy. We may use echocardiography, MRI or CT during:

• Heart ablation.
• Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).
• Transcatheter mitral valve implantation (TMVI).
• Transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions.

Learn more about our interventional cardiology services.

Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Self-Pay Services

Whether you need a cardiac MRI scan, or want to know the cost of interventional cardiology, sports cardiology, surgical procedures or other services, we can help. Cleveland Clinic London has the most innovative tests and treatments available for self-pay, so you’re prepared for whatever turn your health takes. Find out more.

Learn More

Contact us or call +44 20 3423 7500 for more information about our heart imaging services.

For specific information about our heart, vascular or thoracic services you can also email the HVTI access team [email protected].