Artificial intelligence could select heart failure patients for expensive treatment

Artificial intelligence (AI) could predict sudden death in heart failure patients and help select them for expensive treatments, according to a study presented at the International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT. A high proportion of deaths in heart failure patients, especially those with milder symptoms, occur suddenly due to ventricular arrhythmias. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) or cardiac resynchronisation therapy with a pacemaker and defibrillator (CRT-D) are recommended for some patients to correct potentially lethal arrhythmias and reduce the risk of sudden death. However, these treatments are expensive and do not work in all patients. Study author Professor Kenichi Nakajima, of Kanazawa University Hospital,