According to a recent study, electrocardiogram screening (EKG) using an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled stethoscope may detect peripartum cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle in pregnant and recently pregnant women, twice the rate of regular obstetric care including clinical EKGs.
The late-breaking science which was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2023 involved 1200 Nigerian women who were pregnant or recently had a baby.
Peripartum cardiomyopathy was detected twice as often among the study participants when EKG screening was tested with the AI-enabled stethoscope as compared to clinical EKG in addition to routine obstetric care.
Dr. Demilade Adedinsewo, the study’s author stated that the study has demonstrated for the first time that AI-guided screening improves the diagnosis of this fatal yet treatable condition.
- “We demonstrated for the first time in an obstetric population that AI-guided screening using a digital stethoscope improved the diagnosis of this potentially life-threatening and treatable condition.”
- “This research can change current clinical practice from one that is reactive and symptom-driven to a more proactive approach of identifying pregnancy-related cardiac dysfunction using a simple, low-cost and effective screening tool.”
- “Earlier diagnosis would facilitate prompt and appropriate management of cardiomyopathy and reduce associated disease and death.”
Disease Prevalence
Nigeria has the highest reported incidence of peripartum cardiomyopathy worldwide, with it impacting as many as 1 in 96 pregnancies. The rate of peripartum cardiomyopathy is low in the United States affecting 1 in every 1000 to 4000 pregnancies.
Research study details and background
- A total of 1,195 women between the ages of 18 and 49 were enrolled in the study and completed the necessary baseline tests. About 73% were pregnant at the beginning of the study; and 39% were in their third trimester.
- Study participants were enrolled from six teaching hospitals in Nigeria.
- The women were randomly assigned, with 587 women in the AI-assisted intervention arm and 608 in the control group.
- Between August 2022 and September 2023, the study enrolled more than 1,000 Nigerian women who were pregnant or had delivered a baby within the previous 12 months.
- The AI screening involved a digital stethoscope to record the electrical activity of the heart and record heart sounds.
- The women were placed in two different groups. Women in the AI intervention group also had a regular EKG to validate the effectiveness of the AI algorithm.
- Participants in the control group had traditional EKG screening without AI-assisted devices.
Study Findings
- Pregnancy-related cardiomyopathy was detected in 4% of pregnant and postpartum women in the group screened with the AI-enabled digital stethoscope.
- The cardiomyopathy detection rate was 1.8% in the control group, suggesting that half of the cases of cardiomyopathy are likely undetected with usual care.
Researchers expected that the AI-guided screening would improve diagnosis but did not anticipate that the rate would be double.
The study’s limitations include that the rate of cardiomyopathy observed among women in the study who were enrolled at teaching hospital sites may not reflect the frequency in the general obstetric population in Nigeria.