SYRACUSE, N.Y. — It’s a medical breakthrough to help detect early signs of heart disease. Crouse Hospital in Syracuse is now the first in Central New York to use Artificial Intelligence to determine if there’s a potential problem.
Heart disease is the number one killer of adults in the United States with coronary artery disease affecting nearly half of adults. Unchecked chest pain can lead to a heart attack and even death. But thanks to new AI technology, doctors are able to spot the trouble early and even prevent unnecessary testing.
Looking at this patient’s heart scan, at first glance, doctors may not have a clear picture of what lies within the walls of his arteries. He came in with chest pain, but there was no precise way for doctors to know if there was trouble brewing without a cardiac catheterization until now.
Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, cardiologists like Dr. Avneet Singh can now use a non-invasive test to see if a blockage could spell future trouble.
This technology is amazing because it can do that without putting a catheter inside your heart.
Doctors at Crouse Hospital are the first in our region to tap into this new technology called CTFFR. The Heartflow Plaque Analysis is a non-invasive way to evaluate blood flow through the vessels affected by coronary artery disease. It uses a scan to create a personalized 3D image of the heart, accurately measuring the amount of plaque build-up and detect potential blockages. “You get this absolutely beneficial information just using technology,” said Dr. Singh.
Prior to using this technology, patients could end up with an invasive procedure and one they never needed. But that’s all changing thanks to AI. “I think it’s a great tool to sift through data which would take a human a long time and then you have data that’s actionable which helps you make a very informed decision,” Dr. Singh said.
Since Crouse started using the technology, it’s been used on 53 patients. Of those, doctors determined about nine didn’t need a heart catheterization and instead could be monitored and rely on medication. “You’re avoiding unnecessary testing. And it’s not just the risk of the procedure. It’s the angst that goes with oh I have an abnormal stress test. And you’re waiting for your heart catheterization. You get a normal cardiac CT, you walk away with the reassurance,” said Dr. Singh.
For this patient, doctors found the blockages were not significant. They recommended holding off on the next step, avoiding an unnecessary procedure that just months ago the patient would have endured.
The technology was also about to uncover a problem in three patients who previously would not have gotten an invasive angiogram because their assessment didn’t look too bed. But the AI technology picked up significant heart disease in them and the patient did end up getting a heart cath and stenting.
The risk factors for heart disease include smoking, uncontrolled high blood pressure, age, genetics, diabetes, kidney disease and not getting regular check-ups with your doctor.