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An AI algorithm based mostly solely on routine mammogram photos plus age can predict a girl’s threat of main heart problems in addition to commonplace threat evaluation strategies, finds analysis printed on-line within the journal Coronary heart.
And since it makes use of present well being infrastructure, routine mammography could supply a cheap ‘two for one’ efficient screening choice for ladies, counsel the researchers.
Heart problems and its threat elements are underrecognized and undertreated in girls, and threat prediction algorithms have underperformed in them, level out the researchers. And whereas newer threat scores carry out higher in girls than in males, they’re advanced and their accuracy will depend on intensive medical knowledge, which is not all the time obtainable, they add.
The extent of arterial calcium deposits (BAC) and tissue density within the breasts have been linked to heart problems threat, however BAC is not related to weight problems and is negatively related to smoking, suggesting that it is not efficient by itself, they counsel.
They due to this fact got down to uncover if an automatic AI evaluation of the complete vary of inside breast construction and traits from routine mammogram photos is likely to be extra correct at cardiovascular threat prediction.
They drew on 49,196 girls with a median age of 59, enrolled between 2009 and 2020 within the Lifepool cohort registry, and dwelling in Victoria, Australia.
At enrollment, the ladies offered preliminary background well being data on their age, smoking standing, alcohol consumption, weight (BMI), any historical past of diabetes and use of hypertension and/or excessive ldl cholesterol medication and blood thinners.
Further data included menopause standing, reproductive historical past and use of hormone remedy, in addition to elements doubtlessly affecting the inner construction of the breast, comparable to radiation, surgical procedure, and most cancers.
Some 5% of the ladies have been present people who smoke, 62% had a BMI of greater than 25, 6% had kind 2 diabetes, 33% have been taking medication for prime ldl cholesterol, 27% for hypertension, and 11% have been taking a blood thinner.
Throughout a median monitoring interval of practically 9 years, 3392 of those girls had a primary cardiovascular ‘occasion’: coronary artery illness (2383); coronary heart assault (656); stroke (434) or coronary heart failure (731).
The researchers developed an AI algorithm based mostly on the complete complement of inside breast buildings and options from the mammogram photos plus the girl’s age to foretell main heart problems threat over 10 years.
This AI algorithm was pretty much as good as trendy threat scores based mostly on age and numerous medical elements, together with the New Zealand ‘PREDICT’ device and the American Coronary heart Affiliation ‘PREVENT’ calculator. And it was solely barely higher when numerous medical elements have been added.
The researchers acknowledge a number of limitations to their findings, together with that totally different scanners do not produce precisely the identical knowledge; the cardiovascular threat elements used for comparability relied on self-report; and all deep studying fashions are solely depending on their coaching datasets.
However they are saying, “A key benefit of the mammography mannequin we developed is that it didn’t require further historical past taking or medical report knowledge and leveraged an present threat screening course of extensively utilized by girls.
“Mammography has potential as a ‘two-for-one’ risk assessment tool, offering efficiencies for both community and the health care system.”
They concede that “the use of mammography images to predict cardiovascular risk is novel, but the use of machine learning models to do cardiovascular risk prediction is gaining traction.”
In a linked editorial, Professor Gemma Figtree and Dr. Stuart Grieve of the College of Sydney, level out that the poor efficiency of conventional threat issue algorithms in girls is compounded by lack of expertise of the menace posed by coronary heart illness to girls by each girls themselves and the well being system.
“In contrast with what is commonly thought, breast cancer causes only about 10% of the total deaths globally compared with those resulting from cardiovascular disease,” they write.
“Mammography may therefore represent a ‘touch point’ for raising awareness about cardiovascular risk and disease in women,” they counsel.
However they add, “One of the challenges with new tools that show promise for improved cardiovascular risk assessment remains implementation.”
Extra data:
Predicting cardiovascular occasions from routine mammograms utilizing machine studying, Coronary heart (2025). DOI: 10.1136/heartjnl-2025-325705
Journal data:
Coronary heart
Supplied by
British Medical Journal
Quotation:
AI algorithm turns mammograms right into a ‘two-for-one’ check for ladies’s coronary heart well being (2025, September 12)
retrieved 12 September 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-09-ai-algorithm-mammograms-women-heart.html
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