AI can detect heart disease in women using mammograms, study suggests

The study examined 97,364 breast scans from 29,921 women who had an average age of 54. Photograph: andresr/Getty Images

Doctors have discovered a way to use routine mammograms that screen for breast cancer to spot heart disease, the world’s leading – and frequently underdiagnosed – cause of death in women.

Researchers analysed the scans using artificial intelligence and were able to successfully identify women with coronary heart disease, high blood pressure or who had suffered a stroke.