Re-analyzing heart attack data through AI helps forecast patient risk better than current clinical approaches.
Scientists developed a new AI model, GRACE 3.0, (Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events), that helps assess patient risk and predict which heart attack patient require early invasive intervention (angiography or stenting) (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
Extension of the GRACE score for non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome: a development and validation study in ten countries
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Existing therapeutic approaches may sometime select wrong patients for intervention. GRACE 3.0 score analyzes big data sets to capture better patients for catheter-based treatments, allowing more individualized treatment decisions.
The benchmarking study was led by the University of Zurich. The heart attack discussed in this study is the most common type called NSTE-ACS (Non-ST Elevation-Acute Coronary Syndrome).
Analyzing 600,000 Patient Records for Re-Classification
A new study published in The Lancet Digital Health now suggests that many patients may need to be re-classified, with important implications for how heart attacks are treated worldwide.
In the largest study on risk modeling in NSTE-ACS to date, an international research team led by the University of Zurich (UZH) analyzed health data from more than 600,000 patients across 10 countries.
They used artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze clinical trial data from the landmark VERDICT trial and taught the model to recognize which patients benefit most from early invasive treatment, including angiography and stenting.
Identifying Those Who Benefit—and Those Who Don’t for Invasive Treatments
“The results were striking. While some patients gained substantial benefit from early intervention, others showed little or no benefit,” says first author Florian A. Wenzl from UZH’s Center for Molecular Cardiology, who also conducts research at the National Health Service in the UK.
According to the researchers, this indicates that current treatment strategies may in some instances be targeting the wrong patients. A major re-stratification of patient care – one that assesses the individual benefit of established treatment strategies – may therefore be necessary in hospitals worldwide.
According to Wenzl, the study illustrates how AI could transform the treatment of heart attacks: “By re-analyzing clinical trial data, our model GRACE 3.0 learned who actually benefits from early invasive treatment – and who does not. This may imply a shift in how we should be managing these patients.”
The Most Advanced Risk Tool for Personalized Heart Attack Care
Last author Thomas F. Lüscher, who conducts research at the Center for Molecular Cardiology in Zurich and the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London, explains: “GRACE 3.0 is the most advanced and practical tool yet for treating patients with the most common type of heart attacks.”
The new score not only predicts risk more accurately but can also be used to guide more personalized treatment decisions. “This could reshape future clinical guidelines and help to save lives,” Lüscher adds.
The researchers hope that the new GRACE 3.0 score provides doctors in routine clinical practice with a simple, validated and AI-powered tool to deliver more personalized and effective care for heart attack patients.
Reference:
- Extension of the GRACE score for non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome: a development and validation study in ten countries – (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landig/article/PIIS2589-7500(25)00089-5/fulltext)
Source-Eurekalert