Why are MRI scans not allowed for six months after coronary stenting?

MRI scans are generally not contraindicated for patients with coronary stents. However, certain types of stents, such as some older generation bare-metal stents, may create artifacts that can interfere with the quality of the MRI images. In these cases, it may be necessary to wait for a few weeks or months before performing an MRI scan to ensure that the stent has fully healed and stabilized. As stent technology has improved, MR conditional stents are now widely used and allow most patients to undergo MRI safely without restrictions.