24-07-2025
Artificial Intelligence Is Changing the Game in Heart Disease Diagnosis
In a recent study published in Nature, researchers from Columbia University in the United States unveiled a new artificial intelligence tool called EchoNet, which has the potential to revolutionize early detection methods for structural heart diseases using traditional electrocardiograms (ECGs)—diagnostic tools that are simpler and more affordable compared to advanced imaging techniques.
The research team, led by Dr. Pierre Elias from the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, asserts that EchoNet can analyze ECG signals and identify cases that require further investigation through echocardiography, which is typically used to diagnose structural heart disorders such as valve diseases or cardiac hypertrophy.
In a press release, Dr. Elias stated, 'ECGs have long been considered insufficient for detecting structural heart disease, but AI has shown that this is no longer true. This simple test can now be used as a first-line screening tool.'
The key advantage of the new tool lies in its cost-effectiveness, helping doctors make more informed decisions about the need for expensive echocardiograms, thereby improving early diagnosis rates while reducing the financial burden on healthcare systems.
EchoNet was tested by comparing its results with evaluations performed manually by 13 cardiologists on 3,200 ECGs. The AI tool demonstrated an accuracy rate of 77%, outperforming the cardiologists, who achieved an average accuracy of only 64%.
These developments come at a time when structural heart diseases affect more than 64 million people worldwide with heart failure and another 75 million with valve disorders. In the United States alone, the annual cost of treating such conditions exceeds $100 billion.
With this tool, artificial intelligence may be on the verge of reshaping the landscape of heart disease diagnosis—making early detection more accurate, less costly, and accessible to a larger number of patients.
