Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to diagnose heart attacks in just 37 seconds and reduce mortality by 31% among high-risk patients, according to findings presented at the 85th National Congress of the Italian Society of Cardiology in Rome.
The newly released Italian guidelines highlight the role of AI as a significant ally for specialists in diagnosing, monitoring, and managing cardiovascular diseases. AI is expected to help in early disease detection, therapy prescription, and patient monitoring.
A study involving nearly 16,000 patients published in Nature Medicine indicates that combining AI with electrocardiograms can significantly lower three-month mortality rates.
AI's effectiveness extends to various diagnostic tools, achieving a 99% accuracy rate in identifying serious cases from ECGs, and considerably shortening the time from hospital arrival to revascularization procedures.
However, experts caution that the use of AI raises ethical and regulatory challenges, particularly regarding accountability for algorithm-driven decisions. The FDA categorizes AI products as 'software as medical devices,' while the EU AI Act imposes strict regulations to mitigate risks associated with high-stakes applications.
Addressing these challenges is crucial to fully leverage the benefits that AI systems can offer in cardiology.