Tech to predict heart attacks

– A new method of analysing images from CT scans can predict patients at risk of a heart attack years before it occurs, researchers say.

The technology, developed by teams at Oxford University and institutions in Germany and the US, uses algorithms to examine the fat surrounding coronary arteries as it shows up on computed tomography (CT) heart scans.

That fat is altered when an artery gets inflamed, serving as an early warning system for what one researcher believed could be up 30% of heart attacks.

“If you are able to identify inflammation in the arteries of the heart you can say which arteries ... will cause heart attacks,” Oxford Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine Charalambos Antoniades said. “With the new technology we can achieve this by analysing simple CT scans.”

Most heart attacks are caused by a build-up of plaque – a fatty deposit – inside arteries, which interrupts blood flow. Currently, CT scans tell a doctor when an artery has become narrowed by plaque. With the new technology, doctors will be able to say which arteries are at risk of narrowing.

“So you can start preventive measures to avoid plaque formation,” Antoniades said.

“We could potentially identify at least 20 or 30% of people before they have a heart attack.”

An Oxford University spin-off company is developing a service to analyse CT scans from across the globe in 24 hours.

The research was published in medical journal The Lancet in August. – Reuters