A 10-second ECG scan spots heart disease no cardiologist can see

A new ‘superhuman’ tool for spotting heart disease, France slowed down fast fashion, and a near-extinct species bounced back, plus more good news

A new ‘superhuman’ tool for spotting heart disease, France slowed down fast fashion, and a near-extinct species bounced back, plus more good news

Software that can detect heart disease in seconds could help change the trajectory of the condition for millions of people, experts said this week. The new tool, developed by Imperial College London, scans electrocardiograms (ECGs) for information that human cardiologists are unable to see. ECGs record electrical activity in the heart and have long proved reliable in helping cardiologists diagnose heart attacks and abnormal rhythms. But even the most experienced among them are unable to detect signs of heart disease in ECG data. For that, they must carry out echocardiograms, which many patients wait months for – valuable time lost that could be spent seeing treatment. “We looked at the ECGs to see if we could do things that are superhuman,” said Imperial’s Dr Arunashis Sau. “Not things that clinicians can already do, but things that no cardiologist, no matter how expert, can do.” A trial involving 67,000 patients found that the tool successfully correctly identified up to 81% of patients who had heart failure and 90% of those who had heart valve disease. The results were presented at the European Society of Cardiology annual congress in Munich, Germany. “A 10-second ECG, once a blunt screening tool, may soon become one of the most informative tests in medicine,” said Fu Siong Ng, professor of cardiology at Imperial. Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, the British Heart Foundation’s clinical director, added: “When it comes to the heart, earlier diagnosis and treatment saves lives.” Image: peakSTOCK

Software that can detect heart disease in seconds could help change the trajectory of the condition for millions of people, experts said this week.

The new tool, developed by Imperial College London, scans electrocardiograms (ECGs) for information that human cardiologists are unable to see.

ECGs record electrical activity in the heart and have long proved reliable in helping cardiologists diagnose heart attacks and abnormal rhythms. But even the most experienced among them are unable to detect signs of heart disease in ECG data. For that, they must carry out echocardiograms, which many patients wait months for – valuable time lost that could be spent seeing treatment.

“We looked at the ECGs to see if we could do things that are superhuman,” said Imperial’s Dr Arunashis Sau. “Not things that clinicians can already do, but things that no cardiologist, no matter how expert, can do.”

A trial involving 67,000 patients found that the tool successfully correctly identified up to 81% of patients who had heart failure and 90% of those who had heart valve disease. The results were presented at the European Society of Cardiology annual congress in Munich, Germany.

“A 10-second ECG, once a blunt screening tool, may soon become one of the most informative tests in medicine,” said Fu Siong Ng, professor of cardiology at Imperial. Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, the British Heart Foundation’s clinical director, added: “When it comes to the heart, earlier diagnosis and treatment saves lives.”

In further promising health news, a new urine test has correctly identified 92% of bladder cancer cases in a UK trial, raising hopes for speedier diagnoses of the disease. The Galeas urine test was trialled on 964 patients across seven urology departments in England and Scotland. A study, led by the University of Birmingham, showed that it correctly identified 92.2% of cancer cases. Welcoming the results, experts said the at-home test could spare patients from having an invasive cystoscopy, which involves inserting a small camera up the urethra, while also reducing the burden on health services. “The results are very significant for clinical practice,” said Prof Richard Bryan, study co-author. “Only 8% of patients in the study were ultimately diagnosed with bladder cancer, which highlights the challenge facing [health] services, where large numbers of patients currently enter the same urgent diagnostic pathway despite most not having cancer. “Galeas is a promising and less invasive test that can be easier to administer and make testing and screening for bladder cancer far easier.” The peer-reviewed study was published in the journal European Urology Oncology on Wednesday. Further, larger studies are planned. Image: Ridofranz

In further promising health news, a new urine test has correctly identified 92% of bladder cancer cases in a UK trial, raising hopes for speedier diagnoses of the disease.

The Galeas urine test was trialled on 964 patients across seven urology departments in England and Scotland. A study, led by the University of Birmingham, showed that it correctly identified 92.2% of cancer cases.