New AI Tool Can Diagnose 20% More Heart Disease Cases Than Traditional Cardiologist Tests
In the U.S., one person dies from cardiovascular disease every 34 seconds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When it comes to matters close to the heart, lifestyle and dietary changes can make all the difference. But prevention is just as important.
Earlier this week, Best Life reported about a new AI tool that can detect breast cancer, and now scientists are using similar technology to diagnose heart disease cases—and it’s been significantly successful.
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A new AI tool can detect hidden heart disease.
In breaking cardiac news, biomedical researchers have developed an AI-powered screening tool that can detect hidden heart disease. It’s the first of its kind and is designed to be used in tandem with electrocardiograms (ECG).
“We have colonoscopies, we have mammograms, but we have no equivalents for most forms of heart disease,” Pierre Elias, study author and assistant professor of medicine and biomedical informatics at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the medical director for artificial intelligence at NewYork-Presbyterian, said in a press release.
The AI-powered screening tool in question is called EchoNext.
It analyzes ECG data and identifies patients who should undergo further testing, such as an echocardiogram, for potential structural heart problems. These occur when there is “an abnormality in the structure or function of the valves, walls, chambers or muscles in your heart,” explains Cleveland Clinic.
Examples include:
- Valve disease
- Congenital heart disease
- Impaired heart function
- Cardiomyopathy
Structural heart problems can pose serious health risks; however, many cases go undetected until a catastrophic event occurs. EchoNext can change that. Researchers reported that EchoNect “accurately identified structural heart disease from ECG readings more often than cardiologists.”
Their findings were published in the journal Nature.
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How Echonext stacks up against electrocardiograms:
An ECG is a standard test used by cardiologists to measure electrical signals in the heart as well as your heartbeat, explains Mayo Clinic. It can pick up irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias), signs of blockage or narrowing in the arteries, and damage caused by previous heart attacks. Because the test is so easy and quick (and painless), the doctor will typically go over your results on the spot.
ECGs are routine in cardiology, though there are exceptions. “We were all taught in medical school that you can’t detect structural heart disease from an electrocardiogram,” Elias revealed.
This is where EchoNext comes into play. The screening tool was “designed to analyze ordinary ECG data to determine when follow-up cardiac ultrasound is warranted,” explained Elias.
The researchers trained the model using more than 1.2 million ECG-echocardiogram records from 230,000 patients.
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EchoNext consistently outperforms human detection.
In a study assessing the tool’s reliability, researchers found that EchoNext “demonstrated high accuracy in identifying structural heart problems, including heart failure due to cardiomyopathy, valve disease, pulmonary hypertension, and severe thickening of the heart.”
EchoNext also outperforms cardiologists at detecting structural heart problems by 20 percent. In a study examining 3,200 ECGs, the AI-powered tool had a 77 percent success rate, while a team of 13 doctors had an accuracy of 64 percent.
“EchoNext basically uses the cheaper test to figure out who needs the more expensive ultrasound,” Elias said. “It detects diseases cardiologists can’t from an ECG. We think that ECG plus AI has the potential to create an entirely new screening paradigm.”
More recently, the researchers used EchoNext to screen 85,000 ECG patients for structural heart problems. EchoNext classified more than 7,500 people as high-risk for undiagnosed structural heart disease, and 55 percent were later recommended by their doctor to undergo an echocardiogram.
“Of those, nearly three-quarters were diagnosed with structural heart disease—twice the rate of positivity when compared to all people having their first echocardiogram without the benefit of AI,” wrote the authors.
“Using our technology, we may be able to turn the estimated 400 million ECGs that will be performed worldwide this year into 400 million chances to screen for structural heart disease and potentially deliver life-saving treatment at the most opportune time,” said Elias.
As for when EchoNext will hit hospitals nationwide, Elias and his research team are currently conducting a clinical trial across eight emergency departments.