AI Can Now Identify Heart, Death Risks

It's been found recently by Geisinger researchers that artificial intelligence can examine electrocardiogram (ECG) test results to identify patients at risk of dying within a year or developing a potentially dangerous type of arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, according to a release from Geisinger. Conducted in two studies, researchers used more than 2 million ECG test results from archived medical records within the Geisinger system to train deep neural networks and predict irregular heart rhythms, known as atrial fibrillation (AF), before they developed. Atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. The studies are among the first to use artificial intelligence to predict future events from ECG results rather than to detect current health problems. "This is exciting and provides more evidence that we are on the verge of a revolution in medicine where computers will be working alongside physicians to improve patient care," says Brandon Fornwalt, MD, PhD, co-senior author on both studies and associate professor and chair of the Department of Imaging Science and Innovation at Geisinger.