AI Could Predict Who Will Have a Heart Attack

Why It Matters

Adoption could reshape how cardiovascular disease is defined and managed, but its ultimate value depends on establishing effective care pathways, payer coverage and evidence that AI‑driven detection improves outcomes.

Summary

Startups including Bunkerhill Health, Nanox.AI and HeartLung Technologies are applying AI to routine chest CT scans to automatically detect and quantify coronary artery calcium (CAC), potentially flagging millions of patients at elevated risk of heart attack who are currently missed. The approach could massively expand access to a validated risk marker without dedicated heart CTs, but remains unproven at scale amid unresolved questions about clinical benefit, follow‑up workflows, reimbursement and potential downstream harms from overdiagnosis. Adoption could reshape how cardiovascular disease is defined and managed, but its ultimate value depends on establishing effective care pathways, payer coverage and evidence that AI‑driven detection improves outcomes.