Baptist Health Paducah expands heart care with accredited Cardiac MRI services
PADUCAH, KY (Sept. 23, 2025) — In Oct. 2024, Baptist Health Paducah began providing Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) services for heart patients across the region, eliminating the need for long-distance travel and bringing advanced diagnostic care close to home for a wide range of heart conditions. Over the past year, more than 500 patients have benefited from Cardiac MRI scans, rivaling volumes at the country’s top teaching hospitals.
“Cardiac MRI gives us the most accurate measure of heart function. With this single test, we can evaluate blood flow, valve leakage, tissue damage, inflammation, blood clots, congenital abnormalities, fluid around the heart, and even perform stress testing,” said Sanjay Bose, MD, cardiologist with Baptist Health Paducah. “We use advanced research-grade post-processing software for image analysis and I’m proud to say that our volume over the last year rivals many teaching hospitals in the country.”
Building on this commitment to providing comprehensive care, Baptist Health Paducah has been awarded a three-year accreditation in Cardiac MRI by the American College of Radiology® (ACR), recognizing facilities that demonstrate excellence in cardiac imaging and meet rigorous national standards for quality and patient care.
“With ACR accreditation now in place for all available MRI modalities, the hospital stands apart as one of the few in the region fully accredited for cardiac MRI,” said Sandra Zaranti, Director of Imaging Services at Baptist Health Paducah. “Adding the cardiac module to our MRI accreditation is rare in our region. This achievement not only means that our patients no longer must travel for hours for cardiac MRI but also assures our community and referring providers that we meet the highest national standards.”
Cardiac MRI is a non-invasive imaging test that takes approximately 60 minutes to complete, providing highly detailed pictures of the heart and surrounding vessels without using ionizing radiation. Cardiac MRI is also a critical tool for monitoring patients who have undergone certain cancer treatments that may affect the heart.
The test enables cardiologists to diagnose and monitor heart conditions such as heart failure, chest pain, cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, congenital heart defects, myocarditis, and vascular and valvular disease.
“Cardiac MRI also shows whether heart muscle is still alive or permanently damaged. That information is critical because it tells us whether reopening a blocked artery will truly help a patient or only adds risk without benefit. The level of detail we get from the images gives patients in our region access to the same advanced care as leading academic centers,” said Dr. Bose.
For more information about cardiac MRI, talk to your healthcare provider or call 270.415.7242.