Artificial intelligence algorithm predicts heart attacks and strokes

Even doctors can”t tell the future. But recent developments in artificial intelligence say technology might just solve that problem, at least in terms of health.

Will artificial intelligence replace physicians? Maybe. For now, it predicts when a person will suffer a heart attack or stroke, as long as five years beforehand, says BBC News.

To create a patient”s profile and establish if a stroke is around the corner, doctors normally analyze age, blood pressure and obesity.

Based on blood test analysis and MRI heart scans, the software, introduced by researchers from the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, surpasses medical guidelines and detects whether the heart is weak or shows signs of failure in the next five years; “when this data was combined with eight years of patient health records, the artificial intelligence learned which abnormalities predicted when patients would die.”

“This exciting use of computer software in clinical practice will help doctors in the future to make sure that patients are receiving the correct treatment before the condition deteriorates and leaves them needing a lung-transplant,” said Dr Mike Knapton of the British Heart Foundation.

The software will be tested for accuracy on patients in UK hospitals before public release.