Researchers hope artificial intelligence (AI) can help detect coronary artery disease (CAD) long before a heart attack occurs — and maybe even before symptoms appear.
While traditional risk factors, such as age, diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, can help predict heart disease, they don’t tell the full story. Some people with these markers don’t actually have plaque buildup in the arteries, while others may have plaque buildup without any of these factors.
Doctors can’t rely on these markers alone to determine risk of heart disease. This is where AI steps in to bridge the gap.
“AI-driven analysis allows us to look beyond indirect risk factors and visualize the actual disease,” said Endeavor Health researcher Amit Pursnani, MD, the system’s Pepper Family Foundation Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Excellence and Education. “By using artificial intelligence to quantify plaque buildup early, we can personalize treatments and potentially prevent heart attacks before patients ever experience a single symptom.”
The TRANSFORM clinical trial
Endeavor Health is currently serving as a study site for TRANSFORM, a clinical trial designed to test this new method of preventative care.
The study is enrolling patients who have no known symptoms of cardiovascular disease, but who are at an increased risk due to their age combined with a diagnosis of diabetes, prediabetes, or metabolic syndrome. The goal is to compare standard risk-factor-based care against an AI-guided approach to see which strategy better reduces cardiovascular events.
In the U.S., coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, with nearly 1 million deaths in 2023 alone — that’s one death every 34 seconds. About 1 in 20 adults have the disease, but researchers believe the number who go undiagnosed could be higher.
AI-driven disease visualization
The technology behind the trial uses artificial intelligence to evaluate heart scans, acting as a magnifying glass for the cardiovascular system. The AI analyzes the imaging to visualize, characterize and quantify the exact volume and type of plaque (atherosclerosis) hidden in the arteries.
By identifying this plaque in its earliest stages, often long before it would cause a heart attack or show up on standard stress tests, the AI allows physicians to intervene when the disease is most treatable.
Personalized treatment and education
Once the AI analyzes the scans and stages the disease, the patient’s care team can tailor a preventative treatment plan. This care strategy incorporates AI-backed medication recommendations based on the precise stage of the patient's CAD.
It also relies heavily on personalized education. Patients are able to see their own AI-generated heart scans and understand their specific disease status, empowering them to become active partners in their health journey.
“Our goal is to treat the actual disease, not just the risk factors,” said Dr. Pursnani. “By leveraging AI, we hope to offer our patients access to the next generation of precise, preventative cardiovascular care.”
To learn more about the TRANSFORM trial, contact carolyn.bay [at] endeavorhealth.org (carolyn[dot]bay[at]endeavorhealth[dot]org).
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