AI can detect heart disease in women using mammograms, study suggests
Sunday, 30 August 2026
Warm-up
- How is AI already used in healthcare where you live?
- What health checks do many adults avoid or delay? Why?
- What worries you more: cancer or heart disease? Why?
Vocabulary
- mammogram
- an X-ray image of the breast used to check for signs of disease
- cardiovascular
- relating to the heart and blood vessels
- underdiagnosed
- not identified by doctors as often as it occurs
- reliably
- in a way that is consistently accurate or dependable
- scalable
- able to expand to serve many people without major changes
- implementation
- the process of putting a plan or system into regular use
- congress
- a large formal meeting where experts share research
- stroke
- a sudden event when blood flow to the brain is blocked or bursts
Reading
Routine mammograms used to screen for breast cancer may also help spot heart disease, according to research presented in Munich at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual congress. Doctors in Israel analysed breast images with artificial intelligence, suggesting screening could become dual‑purpose, flagging cardiovascular risks as well as cancer.
The team examined 97,364 scans from 29,921 women, with an average age of 54. By matching scans with medical records, they found 16% had high blood pressure, 2.5% had coronary heart disease, and 2.5% had suffered a stroke. A machine‑learning model then identified women who had experienced a stroke 86% of the time, and did so reliably from the mammogram alone.
For high blood pressure and coronary heart disease, the system was 79% and 78% reliable at telling cases from non‑cases. Dr Viana Copeland of Tel Aviv University presented the findings. Because mammography is already widespread, using AI on breast images could be a scalable extra check without another imaging test.
Experts welcomed the work but said accuracy and clinical implementation still need to be proven before clinics adopt it. Millions of women live with underdiagnosed cardiovascular disease, and researchers are working to improve the model and reduce false results.
Comprehension
- What medical test did researchers analyse with AI?
- Where were the findings presented?
- How many scans and women were included in the study?
- How reliable was the model at identifying stroke?
- What reliability did it show for blood pressure and heart disease?
Grammar focus
Be to / be set to for official arrangements
Use be to or be set to for formal or official plans and timetables. Form: be (is/are) + to / be (is/are) set to + verb — used in announcements and schedules. (Examples constructed.)
- If approved, the trial **is to begin** in phases.
- The congress **is set to host** sessions on AI screening.
Grammar exercise
Complete each sentence with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
- The ministry (be set to) ___ review the trial protocol.
- Hospitals (be to) ___ discuss the AI check at meetings.
- If approved, the trial (be set to) ___ begin in phases.
- The congress (be set to) ___ feature a session on AI.
- Researchers (be to) ___ present the model to clinicians.
Discussion
- Should mammograms also screen for heart risk if the tech improves?
- What safeguards are needed to handle false AI results?
- How might this study change women’s awareness of heart disease?
- Will moving from research to clinic be slow or fast? Why?
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