BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) becomes more and more a routine diagnostic tool in clinical cardiology. In patients undergoing MRI, metallic implants may be harmful by motion or heating under certain circumstances. Many cardiac patients have implanted intracoronary stents. However, the safety of these metallic implants and especially their temperature behaviour during MRI has not been sufficiently tested. METHODS: This study investigated motion and temperature changes of 14 different stents for intracoronary application in two clinical scanners at field strengths of 1.0 and 1.5 T. At 1.5 T these studies were repeated after implantation of the stents into the coronary arteries of excised porcine hearts. Furthermore, the clinical status of 33 patients was assessed after a cardiac MR study and compared with a group of 33 patients matched for age, sex and risk factors for restenosis. RESULTS: No visible motion of the stents was observed. Furthermore, using a highly sensitive infrared camera any significant heating of the stents during MRI could be excluded. The rate of clinical events was not different in patients after MRI as compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that MRI is safe in patients with the currently available intracoronary stents.