In today’s era, due to bad lifestyle, most of the people are falling prey to heart diseases. In the field of medical science, Artificial Intelligence i.e. AI has achieved a big achievement.
Scientists at the University of Oxford have developed a simple AI tool that can predict a person’s risk of developing heart failure five years in advance. This discovery has brought a new ray of hope for more than 6 crore people around the world who are struggling with this serious condition.
Identification of signals hidden in fat
This tool analyzes data from routine cardiac CT scan. It looks for subtle signs in the fat around the heart that indicate inflammation and illness. These signals are so subtle that it is not possible to see them with the human eye.
Until now, there was no way to accurately predict heart failure through routine CT scans. The new tool assigns a ‘risk score’ to each patient, helping doctors decide how closely a patient should be monitored.
Prediction with 86% accuracy
This AI tool was tested on 72,000 patients from nine NHS trusts in England. This decade-long study found that this tool could predict the risk of heart failure in the next five years with 86% accuracy.
The research also revealed that people who were in the ‘highest risk’ group were 20 times more likely to develop heart failure than people who were at low risk. The results of this study were published in the ‘Journal of the American College of Cardiology’ on Wednesday.
Life can be saved with timely treatment
Professor Cheralambos Antoniades of Cardiovascular Medicine, who led the study, said that this tool works without human intervention. He said, ‘Now we are working towards applying this method to any CT scan of the chest. This will help doctors take more informed decisions and provide intensive treatment to high-risk patients.
According to Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan, Clinical Director of the British Heart Foundation, heart failure is often diagnosed too late, causing serious damage to the heart muscle. This tool can prove to be revolutionary in starting treatment on time and improving the quality of life and health of the patient.
Important tips for heart health
Experts say that along with technology, change in lifestyle is also necessary. The most effective ways to keep your heart healthy are to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, be physically active, control your weight, quit smoking, reduce alcohol consumption, and keep your blood pressure under control.