Researchers developed a deep learning artificial intelligence model that can predict the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease using a single X-ray.
The AI, known as CXR-CVD risk deep learning model, was presented Nov. 29 at the annual meeting of Radiological Society of North America, according to a news release from the group.
Currently, physicians estimate the 10-year risk of major heart events using the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk score, a statistical model that uses a host of variables. However, not all variables are available to physicians. The ASCVD score helps physicians know which patients would benefit from a statin for primary prevention. Statins are recommended for patients with a 10-year risk of 7.5 percent or higher.
"Our deep learning model offers a potential solution for population-based opportunistic screening of cardiovascular disease risk using existing chest X-ray images," the study's lead author, Jakob Weiss, MD, a radiologist affiliated with the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and the AI in Medicine program at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, said in the release. "This type of screening could be used to identify individuals who would benefit from statin medication but are currently untreated."
Through two studies, researchers found a significant association between risk predicted by the CXR-CVD risk AI and observed major cardiac events, the release said.