AI Program Enhances Heart Disease Detection

Artificial intelligence programs have the ability to identify patterns in electrocardiograms that humans often overlook. A specific program is now accessible to doctors at no cost.

An AI program’s clinical trial revealed potential severe heart damage in the electrocardiogram of a patient. Gina Kolata, a seasoned writer on heart disease, notes the evolving nature of the field. On June 22, 2026, Gina highlights how AI likely saved Louie Quiros’s life.

At 45, Louie Quiros sought help at a Queens emergency room in February 2025. He reported coughing blood and difficulty breathing over four days. Despite a fast heartbeat and poor air intake, his chest X-ray showed normal results. An electrocardiogram, or ECG, detected abnormalities but failed to offer a definitive diagnosis. It suggested coronary heart disease—a rare affliction for someone his age—which wasn’t the case. Exposure to wildfire smoke during his California trip led emergency doctors to prescribe asthma medication and an inhaler.

Mr. Quiros’s emergency room was part of NewYork-Presbyterian’s medical system. Researchers employing an AI program, EchoNext, analyzed all electrocardiograms in this medical system. Their aim was to identify heart damage patterns undetectable by humans.

The AI program is undergoing clinical trials thanks to Dr. Pierre Elias, the medical director of AI and cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Elias and his team created EchoNext, which evaluates ECGs within ten minutes of completion. Annually, they assess nearly 500,000 ECGs. Dr. Elias established Pathway Labs to distribute the program.

EchoNext discovered indicators of severe heart damage in Mr. Quiros’s electrocardiogram. A week later, the team summoned him back for an echocardiogram—a scan depicting the heart’s movement. Examination showed his heart’s contractions circulated only 10 percent of its blood, while his mitral valve leaked blood back into the heart.