The growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) is causing significant changes around the world, with the medical field also making full use of it to detect diseases.
As per Sky News, researchers from the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have created a new AI tool that is capable of detecting heart conditions before they show any symptoms.
The new tool analyzes GP records to identify warning signs that could suggest a patient is at risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF).
AF is a heart condition where the heart beats irregularly and often too fast.
People with AF have a higher risk of stroke with some people may feel symptoms like palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath and tiredness, while others might not show any symptoms.
The tool calculates a person’s risk of developing AF by considering factors such as age, gender, ethnicity and other medical conditions like heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, ischaemic heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The algorithm was developed using private health data from more than 2.1 million people which was later tested and checked for accuracy using the medical records of an additional 10 million people.
The tool is currently being tested in a six-month trial at some medical centers in West Yorkshire.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the BHF and consultant cardiologist at Royal Brompton Hospital, said, “By harnessing the power of routinely collected health care data and prediction algorithms, this research offers a real opportunity to identify more people who are at risk of atrial fibrillation and who may benefit from treatment to reduce their risk of a devastating stroke."
The people who are found to be at high risk are given a portable ECG device to check their heart rhythm.
They are asked to use the device twice a day for four weeks and also whenever they experience heart palpitations.
