A groundbreaking international study led by the University of Zurich has shown that artificial intelligence (AI) can predict patient risk for the most common type of heart attack more accurately than existing methods. The findings could enable doctors to make more personalised and effective treatment decisions.
For years, clinicians managing patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) have relied on the GRACE score, a standardised system for estimating risk and guiding the timing of catheter-based interventions such as angiography or stenting. While widely used and integrated into international guidelines, traditional tools like GRACE have long been recognised as limited in capturing the complexity of these patients.
Published in The Lancet Digital Health, the new research analysed health data from more than 600,000 patients across 10 countries, making it the largest study ever conducted on risk modelling in NSTE-ACS. The international team, led by UZH, used AI to re-examine clinical trial data, including the landmark VERDICT trial, and trained the model to identify which patients benefit most from early invasive treatment.
The results were interesting. While some patients gained substantial benefit from early intervention, others showed little or none. This suggests that current strategies may sometimes target the wrong patients, underscoring the need for a new risk classification system that assesses who truly benefits from invasive procedures.
The new AI-driven model, dubbed GRACE 3.0, represents a major step forward. By re-analysing clinical trial data, the model learned who actually benefits from early treatment and who does not. This could fundamentally change how clinicians manage these patients."
Study researchers highlight that GRACE 3.0 is the most advanced and practical tool yet for treating patients with the most common type of heart attack. The model not only improves risk prediction but can also guide individualised treatment decisions. This could reshape future clinical guidelines and help save lives.
Researchers hope that GRACE 3.0 will soon provide clinicians with a simple, validated, and AI-powered tool to deliver more personalised and effective care for millions of heart attack patients worldwide.
Source. The Lancet
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