UVA Health experts have created a helpful tool for predicting outcomes in people with heart failure. They offer this tool for free to doctors.
This new tool is better than others because it uses machine learning and artificial intelligence. It figures out how likely each patient is to have bad outcomes with heart failure.
Dr. Sula Mazimba, a heart expert, explains, “Not all heart failure patients are alike. Each has a different risk level for bad outcomes. Knowing this helps doctors choose treatments that work better.”
What’s Heart Failure?
Heart failure happens when the heart can’t pump enough blood for the body. This can cause tiredness, weakness, and swollen legs. In severe cases, it can lead to death. It’s important for doctors to spot patients at risk early.
And heart failure is becoming more common. Over 6 million Americans already have it, and that number could reach over 8 million by 2030. The UVA researchers made their tool, called CARNA, to help these patients.
They used data from thousands of heart failure patients in past studies. Testing their tool, they found it worked better than others. It could predict if patients might need surgery, get readmitted to the hospital, or even die.
The tool’s success comes from using AI and including detailed clinical data about how blood moves through the body.
Dr. Josephine Lamp, a computer expert, says, “This tool is special because it can handle lots of data, even if it’s not perfect. It helps doctors make decisions faster.”
Doctors can now give personalized care to patients, which might help them live longer. Dr. Kenneth Bilchick, a heart doctor at UVA Health, says, “This tool happened because different experts worked together. This teamwork will be important for using AI in healthcare in the future.”
Source: Sciencedaily
