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Artificial intelligence can detect people at highest risk of a heart attack up to ten years in advance, according to a major study.
With evidence that the technology can detect warning signs that conventional scanners miss, there is the potential to save thousands of lives a year.
The study, led by the University of Oxford, showed that up to a fifth of heart attacks could be prevented. Meanwhile, the findings also indicated 8 percent fewer deaths.
The researchers analyzed data from more than 40,000 patients undergoing routine cardiac CT scans at eight UK hospitals.
They found that those whose results showed “significant” narrowing of the arteries were more likely to suffer a serious heart attack. However, twice as many patients without significant narrowing also suffered heart attacks.
The study, led by the University of Oxford, showed that up to a fifth of heart attacks could be prevented
The team then used a new artificial intelligence tool, trained using information about changes in fat around inflamed arteries, which can indicate the risk of events such as heart attacks.
Additional tests conducted on an additional 3,393 patients over several years revealed that it could accurately predict the risk of cardiac events.
Among those without blockages in the arteries, those with the highest levels of inflammation in the blood vessels had a more than 10 times higher risk of cardiac death compared to those with lower levels of inflammation.
In a world-first pilot presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia, they provided AI-generated risk scores to doctors for 744 patients and found that in up to 45 percent of cases, doctors altered plans of patient treatment.
Professor Charalambos Antoniades, from the University of Oxford, said: “Our study found that some patients who present to hospital with chest pain – who are often reassured and sent home – are at high risk.” of suffering a heart attack in the next decade, even in the absence of any signs of disease in the arteries of your heart.
The researchers analyzed data from more than 40,000 patients undergoing routine cardiac CT scans at eight UK hospitals.
“Here we demonstrate that providing an accurate picture of risk to physicians can alter and potentially improve the course of treatment for many cardiac patients.”
Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said this shows the “valuable role that AI-based technology can play” in identifying those most at risk of future heart attacks.
He said: “We hope this technology will eventually be rolled out across the NHS and help save the lives of thousands of people each year who would otherwise not receive treatment.”
It comes as the NHS revealed a series of pilot schemes using AI to try to prevent hospital admissions this winter.
They include an initiative in Buckinghamshire to track the eating and drinking habits of frail people in their homes in a bid to prevent them being admitted to hospital.
The new AI tool is trained using information about changes in fat around inflamed arteries, which can indicate the risk of events such as heart attacks.
Electronic sensors will be placed in kettles and refrigerators to track changes in consumption patterns, which will then be flagged by a care team.
Meanwhile, NHS teams in Birmingham are piloting an algorithm to avoid thousands of visits to the hospital or GP.
It predicts that the top 5 per cent of patients at risk will attend or be admitted to hospital so that staff can register to offer social care measures.
Over the next two years, the plan aims to avoid 4,500 unnecessary trips to A&E, as well as 17,000 overnight stays in hospital and 23,000 GP appointments.
Amanda Pritchard, head of NHS England, said it will help identify the “most vulnerable or at-risk patients” and reduce the number of avoidable A&E visits.