New Study Shows Promise of Veterans Affairs AI Model to Detect Heart Disease Early

The primary cause of heart disease is the buildup of plaque, called atherosclerosis, which can block blood flow in arteries. While millions of computerized tomography (CT) chest scans are taken each year, only a small percentage explicitly quantify atherosclerosis and heart disease risk. 

A new study, published in NEJM AI, led by researchers at VA Long Beach Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School showed that the artificial intelligence (AI) model they developed – using data from 98 VA medical centers – may enable providers to detect risk for heart disease earlier by reviewing the millions of CT scans that are not currently evaluated for cardiovascular disease risk. The researchers found that the model was 89.4% accurate at determining whether a scan showed high plaque levels. It can be used on scans that are taken for other purposes, such as for lung cancer screening, potentially providing a new method to catch heart disease. 

“Using AI has the potential to provide clinicians with a powerful new tool to identify heart disease risk for patients earlier on, enabling them to proactively manage their health,” said first author VA Long Beach Cardiologist and Researcher Raffi Hagopian, MD. “By helping shift medicine from a reactive approach to the proactive prevention of disease, we can save lives, improve outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs.”

Among other limitations, prior AI studies on coronary artery calcium were tested on a small number of medical centers. As one of the first health care systems to adopt electronic medical records and as a network with over 9 million enrolled Veterans, VA is uniquely positioned to advance AI research. 

“With access to millions of chest CT scans and outcomes data, VA is able to conduct groundbreaking cardiovascular research at unprecedented scale, powered by artificial intelligence, to provide clinical insights and precision medicine that enables the potential to identify and treat heart disease earlier, not only for our Veterans, but also the public at-large," said Staff Cardiologist at the VA Long Beach Medicine Healthcare Group Jeannie Yu, MD.

The study was supported by resources from the Veterans Affairs health care system.

Stephen Dagadakis, Public Affairs Officer

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