Artificial Intelligence (AI) can now help fix ailing hearts, too. Not in the poetic sense, but quite literally. Ever heard of Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy? Like its long name suggests, it's a condition that tires the molecules that hold heart cells together. The rare, inherited disease causes healthy heart muscle to give way to fibrous, fatty tissue gradually, and the progression occurs silently. By the time a person is diagnosed, the heart might already be damaged. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have developed an AI system that identifies PKP2, the gene linked to this disease, in individuals who may have it. 

What causes Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy?
Mutations in the PKP2, DSG2, DSP, DSC2, and JUP genes are mainly associated with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). The condition weakens heart muscles and replaces them with scarred tissue, making it tough for you to breathe and even causing fainting. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the condition has a high risk of causing abnormal heart rhythms, and it calls for early diagnosis and treatment.

The person who had a heart attack may have felt like having gas trouble in the chest while walking briskly two weeks ago. Photo: iStock/Rasi Bhadramani
ARVC calls for early diagnosis and treatment. Photo: iStock/Rasi Bhadramani

ARVC Symptoms
1) Fainting
2) Breathlessness
3) Swelling on feet, legs, belly, ankles
4) Fluttering, palpitations in your chest
5) Fatigue 
6) Chest pain

How AI helps
Mayo Clinic's AI model can identify patients with a potential diagnosis of ARVC by analysing their electrocardiogram (ECG) data. It can also identify 'faint patterns,' which is a significant sign of the condition. Once this is done, doctors hand out smartwatches to patients and track their heart rate and activity daily. Using this data, the researchers train the AI further to become more innovative and more effective at predicting the disease. Apparently, Mayo Clinic is also exploring gene therapy for PKP2 so that in the future, it can stop the disease from worsening. 

ADVERTISEMENT

TAGS

Google News Add as a preferred source on Google
The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.