AI used to develop affordable early indicator of heart disease

Researchers at a Mayo Clinic have discovered that combining artificial intelligence with the inexpensive electrocardiogram test can identify asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction at an early stage. The condition presents as a weak heart pump with a risk of overt heart failure, but it is treatable. Studies have shown positive accuracy levels in the combination test as opposed to the current BNP screening method, which measures natriuretic peptide levels, where results have been mixed, and screening requires expensive MRI or CT scans, or echocardiograms which are not always available.
Dr Paul Friedman, chair of the Mayo Clinic Midwest Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and senior author, said: “Congestive heart failure afflicts more than 5 million people and consumes more than $30 billion in health care expenditures in the U.S. alone. The ability to acquire an ubiquitous, easily accessible, inexpensive recording in 10 seconds, the EKG, and to digitally process it with AI to extract new information about previously hidden heart disease holds great promise for saving lives and improving health.”