Can EKGs read by AI save lives? It's possible, researchers say

Artificial intelligence may do a better job than humans at spotting high-risk patients using results from a heart test, leading to better care and lower death rates, researchers say.

"The study shows that AI is much better than doctors at identifying early signs of potential death" using electrocardiogram results, said lead researcher Dr. Chin Lin, an associate professor at the School of Medicine of the National Defense Medical Center in Taipei, Taiwan. "With AI's help, doctors identified more heart issues and treated them right away."

The results will be presented Nov. 12 at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia. The findings are considered preliminary until full results are published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Electrocardiograms, also called EKGs or ECGs, measure the heart's electrical activity and help cardiologists spot heart problems. This noninvasive test translates the heart's rhythm into wavy lines on paper that can then be read by a doctor.

For the study, researchers recruited 39 emergency or internal medicine doctors who treated 15,965 adult patients, with an average age of 61, who needed an EKG for various reasons. "These reasons included older patients needing surgery or hospital stays, people with heart-related symptoms or suspected heart issues and those with known or suspected heart diseases," said Lin, who also is chief technology officer at the Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things Development Center at Tri-Service General Hospital in Taipei.

All patients had their EKGs uploaded to the hospital's information system, but for about half, only their physicians evaluated them. For the other half, if the AI...