AI can detect heart disease in women using mammograms, study suggests
Experts say findings mean breast screenings for cancer could also flag cardiovascular problems in women Doctors have discovered a way to use routine mammograms that screen for breast cancer to spot heart disease, the world’s leading – and frequently underdiagnosed – cause of death in women. Researchers analysed the scans using artificial intelligence and were able to successfully identify women…
Researchers have discovered that routine mammograms, typically used to screen for breast cancer, can also detect heart disease in women, the world's leading cause of death. A study presented at the European Society of Cardiology's annual congress analyzed 97,364 scans from 29,921 women, revealing that 16% had high blood pressure, 2.5% had coronary heart disease, and 2.5% had experienced a stroke.
Using artificial intelligence, experts were able to identify women with these conditions based on their mammograms, with a 86% success rate for stroke detection, and 79% and 78% accuracy for high blood pressure and coronary heart disease, respectively. Dr. Viana Copeland, the researcher who presented the findings, stated that cardiovascular disease is consistently underdiagnosed and undertreated, and that mammography could provide a scalable approach to identify heart health issues without the need for additional imaging examinations.
While the study is promising, further research is needed to improve the accuracy and reliability of the AI model before it can be implemented in clinical settings.
Written by urgent.news from Guardian Technology's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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