However, doctors are not going to scare anyone with the exact date “X”. But they claim that the program, based on an analysis of the state of the heart (which, in fact, is what an ECG is for), predicts the risk of death over the next 10 years with an accuracy of 78%. This is all thanks to the fact that AI can see hidden problems in an apparently healthy cardiogram that not every cardiologist will notice. Thanks to this, it is possible not only to calculate the risks of an impending heart attack, but also to select treatment to delay death as far as possible.
Photo: Infographics “RG” / Leonid Kuleshov / Irina Nevinnaya
Patients themselves notice that something is wrong with the heart when the symptoms are already obvious: severe pain, irregular heart rhythm, etc. But there are many “bells and whistles” that a person himself may not pay attention to. For example, we do not associate snoring, rapid breathing, or discomfort in the neck and back with heart disease. But these and other non-obvious symptoms affect the ECG – and AI allows them to be “calculated.” We “learned” the program using data from 1 million ECGs performed on 190 thousand patients – on average, there were more than five such tests per person.
Scientists claim that in 76% of patients the program helped predict future serious heart rhythm disturbances, and in 7 out of 10 cases, it helped to identify early signs of atherosclerosis. “Our goal is to try to use the ECG as a way to identify people at increased cardiovascular risk who might benefit from other tests that can tell us more about what’s going on. The ECG is a very common and cheap test that can be used as a “red flag” to understand whether a more in-depth examination is needed. The next step is to change the approach to treatment,” the Daily Mail quotes one of the authors of the project, cardiologist at the Imperial College of Health, Dr. Arunashis Sau.
Fellow college cardiologist Dr Fu Siong added: “Doctors will be informed not only about the diagnosis but also the prognosis of a range of health risks, meaning we can intervene earlier, provide more aggressive treatment and prevent disease.”
If the experiment is successful, the AI-ECG program is planned to be implemented in all medical institutions in Britain in the next five years.
How to slow down aging
Russian scientists are also developing similar technologies. Except that our names are not as “hype” as the British ones. At the Russian Gerontological Research and Clinical Center of Pirogov University, they are developing a “biological age calculator”: by the difference in test results and the numbers in the passport, one can judge whether a person will live longer than “average” or, conversely, is aging faster than expected.
“The development of medicine assumes the next stage: from the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, doctors will move on to managing the aging process,” explains Olga Tkacheva, director of the Gerontological Center, chief freelance geriatrician at the Russian Ministry of Health.
In fact, the Institute for the Study of Aging was created at the center for these purposes – they study what happens in the human body with age and look for ways to reduce negative changes. “The institute is conducting a RUSS AGE study, its result should be the development of an original calculator for determining biological age (that is, a scale for maintaining healthy body functions). We are determining methods for calculating biological age and are looking for ways to influence the rate of aging,” noted Olga Tkacheva.
Scientists already know how to estimate the biological age of the heart and blood vessels. It uses ECG data, like the British, and indicators of the condition of blood vessels, and a blood formula, for example, a lipid profile, which directly affects the development of atherosclerosis.
But life expectancy is influenced by many factors. “Therefore, we are additionally developing a calculator based on assessing metabolism and studying the intestinal microbiota – all this also changes with age. If we learn to control these processes, we can increase not just life expectancy, but healthy life expectancy,” Olga Tkacheva emphasized.
With the help of artificial intelligence, you can see hidden problems in an apparently healthy ECG that will manifest themselves in the future. Photo: Inside Creative House / iStock
Take your temperature
“An ECG is an inexpensive and accessible test. It, of course, does not provide too high a prediction accuracy, but it is not low either,” Olga Shuppo, scientific director of the Grand Clinic network of immunorehabilitation, adaptive and preventive medicine clinics, comments on the idea of her British colleagues.
Indeed, subtle ECG analysis can reveal hidden health problems and take into account genetic information about the structure of the heart. And as a result, we can confidently predict what will happen to the heart in a year, two, or 10 years.
At the same time, Olga Shuppo notes, there are no less effective tests that are available in Russia. “For example, there is a little-known but effective diagnostic method – radiothermometry. It is based on measuring the temperature of the internal tissues of the human body. It is absolutely painless and safe. Information about a person’s condition is obtained by recording the body’s own radiation. There are also various methods for comprehensive functional assessment of the condition of blood vessels , lungs, and other vital organs and systems,” she said.
This approach to health assessment is called “integrative”. It allows you to manage your health, preventing the development of diseases, slowing down aging.
“Knowing about the potential risks, a person, together with a doctor, can develop a personal program of check-ups, taking vitamins and microelements, drug therapy, a set of physiotherapeutic methods. And, of course, adjusting their lifestyle and diet,” explains Dr. Shuppo.
“There are diseases whose development depends on our genome, gender, age – it is difficult to influence this. At the same time, 50% of our health depends on controllable factors – the external environment, food quality, physical activity,” explains Genotek product director Alexander Rakitko. – In order for the forecast to be reliable, all factors must be taken into account in a complex manner. And now AI and big data analysis technologies have come to medicine. Doctors have the opportunity to use not only simple questionnaires, banal measurements such as blood pressure and basic blood tests, but also genetic data. and much more. Therefore, predictive models are becoming more complex, but also more accurate.”
Meanwhile
Find out your biological age
Scientists say: the level of medicine affects our health and longevity by only 10%. And half of the success is our own efforts, our way of life. You can estimate your biological age – understand how the real state of your body differs from the “statistical average”, which corresponds to the number in your passport, using the Bioage Bot Telegram bot developed at Sechenov University. Of course, the bot will not analyze the genotype and complex indicators of the body’s condition, but even by answering simple questions about everyday behavior, you can obtain data on the state of your health.
Analysis of data from respondents botin particular, showed that 38% eat no more than 100 g of vegetables and fruits per day (with a norm of 500-600 g). And this is a critical risk factor for premature death. 40% are overweight, 18% are obese. 31% drink less than a liter of water per day. As a result, it turned out that 53% have a biological age greater than their passport age.
Source: rg.ru
