ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Artificial intelligence could save millions of lives, with a new capability to predict a person’s risk for a cardiac event more accurately than a doctor.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University used AI to create a survival model for patients. The model spans a 10-year period and includes a prediction for when a person is most likely to suffer a cardiac event.
Dr. Venkat Polsani, director of cardiovascular MRI and CT at Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta, said the new capabilities gave him hope for his patients.
“Having data like this where you can predict – that’s individualized for the patient, their risk – that makes a huge difference,” said Dr. Polsani.
The patient survival model considers imaging data of the patient’s heart, variables like age and race, and risk factors like diabetes and blood pressure.
Paula Harris, a patient at Piedmont Heart, believes she could have benefitted from the technology. She suffered a heart attack in February 2021.
“I wish it was around a couple years ago. That could have saved me a lot,” said Harris.
Harris underwent life-saving open heart surgery. Despite high blood pressure, she never expected to experience a sudden cardiac event.
“I’m one of those people who eats right, goes to the gym, all that,” said Harris. “Whenever I tell anybody, they still can’t believe it.”
These types of stories are common but often end in tragedy. Nearly 90 percent of sudden cardiac events are deadly, making up as many as 20 percent of deaths worldwide.
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