‘Superhuman’ AI tool spots heart disease in less than 2 seconds

Doctors have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can identify signs of heart failure and heart valve disease from routine electrocardiograms in less than two seconds, trained on millions of patient records. In a trial of 67,000 U.S. patients, the AI detected heart failure in up to 81% of cases and heart valve disease in up to 90%, potentially fast-tracking high-risk patients for further testing rather than waiting months for echocardiograms. The British Heart Foundation-funded technology, presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Munich, could enable earlier diagnosis and treatment, though it requires confirmation with additional imaging.