Skip to main content

Machine learning algorithms surpass doctors at predicting heart attacks

ai algorithm heart attack 13876589  young adult man suffering from severe chest pain
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Doctors are not clairvoyant, but it looks like technology is getting awfully close. Thanks to a team of researchers at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, we could be closer than ever before to predicting the future when it comes to patients’ health risks. The scientists have managed to develop an algorithm that outperforms medical doctors when it comes to predicting heart attacks. And this, experts say, could save thousands or even millions of lives every year.

As it stands, around 20 million people fall victim to cardiovascular disease, which includes heart attacks, strokes, and blocked arteries. Today, doctors depend on guidelines similar to those of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) in order to predict individuals’ risks. These guidelines include factors like age, cholesterol level, and blood pressure.

Unfortunately, that’s often insufficient. “There’s a lot of interaction in biological systems,” Stephen Weng, an epidemiologist at the University of Nottingham, told Science Magazine. And some of them make less sense than others. “That’s the reality of the human body,” Weng continued. “What computer science allows us to do is to explore those associations.”

In employing computer science, Weng took the ACC/AHA guidelines and compared them to four machine-learning algorithms: random forest, logistic regression, gradient boosting, and neural networks. The artificially intelligent algorithms began to train themselves using existing data to look for patterns and create their own “rules.” Then, they began testing these guidelines against other records. And as it turns out, all four of these methods “performed significantly better than the ACC/AHA guidelines,” Science reports.

The most successful algorithm, the neural network, actually was correct 7.6 percent more often than the ACC/AHA method, and resulted in 1.6 percent fewer false positives. That means that in a sample size of around 83,000 patient records, 355 additional lives could have been saved.

“I can’t stress enough how important it is,” Elsie Ross, a vascular surgeon at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, who was not involved with the work, told Science, “and how much I really hope that doctors start to embrace the use of artificial intelligence to assist us in care of patients.”

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
ClipDart is an on-demand barber app aimed at people of color
ClipDart founder, Kyle Parker.

It’s funny how we can take certain things for granted, like haircuts. Over the course of more than 50 years of living in different cities, different neighborhoods, or even visiting different countries, not once have I ever worried about whether I could find someone who could cut my hair the way I liked. Then again, I’m white.

But if you’re a person of color, it can be an entirely different experience. That’s what Kyle Parker discovered when he left his hometown of Chicago in 2013 to attend Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, population 9,031. While 24% of Grinnell College’s students identify themselves as people of color, fewer than 10% of residents of the city of Grinnell would say the same of themselves.

Read more
Circular confirms its $259 smart ring is coming to the U.S.
best wearables of ces 2022 circular ring

The Circular smart ring is finally going to be available for pre-order on Sunday, February 27, via the Circular website and will cost $259. The wearable tech will be available for presale in European countries (France, Germany, the U.K., and Italy,) the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Pre-orders will go live at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 27. Those who pre-order the smart ring should expect delivery between April and June 2022, according to a Circular press release.

Circular doesn't clarify what ring sizes will be available when presales go live, however, the company has said that seven sizes for both men and women will be available. Digital Trends has reached out for clarification on the available sizes, and will update this article when we hear back. The Circular smart ring also comes in four different colors that can be switched out with replaceable outer shells: Black, rose gold, silver, and gold.

Read more
How to take an ECG with your Apple Watch and see irregular heart notifications
ecg app apple watch

The ECG app is one of the most vital features of the Apple Watch, allowing you to see an electrocardiogram of your heart whenever you want. Along with this, the Apple Watch can notify you of irregular heart rhythms.

Read more