Israeli Study Finds Mammograms May Detect Heart Disease in Women

A groundbreaking Israeli study, led by Dr. Viana Copeland, a physician and researcher at the Sheba Medical Center's Heart and Vascular Institute, suggests that mammograms, when analyzed with artificial intelligence, can reveal signs of cardiovascular disease in women. This finding is significant as heart disease is the leading cause of death for women and is often underdiagnosed.

The research, presented at the European Society of Cardiology's annual congress in Munich, analyzed data from approximately 100,000 mammograms belonging to nearly 30,000 women, with a median age of 54. By cross-referencing mammogram data with medical records, the study identified that 16% of these women had hypertension, 2.5% suffered from coronary artery disease, and 2.5% had experienced a stroke.

An AI model was trained to detect these conditions from mammograms. The model accurately identified women who had suffered a stroke in 86% of cases, based solely on their mammograms. For hypertension and coronary artery disease, the model achieved accuracy rates of 79% and 78%, respectively. These results remained consistent regardless of the women's age or whether they had a history of cancer.

Dr. Copeland highlighted the potential of leveraging existing screening platforms like mammography for broader health insights. She emphasized the critical need for better diagnosis of heart disease in women, noting that their symptoms often differ from men's and are frequently missed. "The beauty here is that we managed to take a platform that already exists, an important screening test, and enable it to provide several indications," Dr. Copeland stated.

The researchers are now working to enhance the AI model's accuracy and expand its capability to identify a wider range of heart conditions, aiming for early detection rather than just identifying existing illness. Sheba Medical Center is establishing a company to commercialize this technology as part of its 'smart hospital' initiative. The study's findings, along with other AI and future hospital developments, will be showcased at Sheba's ARC Summit innovation conference in October.