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Powerful Medical
1. October 2024
3 min to read

Evaluating AI Prediction of Occlusive Myocardial Infarction from 12-lead ECGs After Resuscitated Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Overview

Rapid detection of coronary vessel blockage in out-of-hospital-cardiac-arrest (OHCA) patients is crucial, as timely treatment improves survival and neurological outcomes. Standard ECG criteria often miss critical markers, delaying treatment. This analysis showed that the PMcardio STEMI AI ECG Model could detect them with high accuracy (88.7% sensitivity, 81.4% specificity), demonstrating its potential to speed up diagnosis and improve patient care.

Published In: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) – presented at the TCT’24 Annual Conference
Presented Date: October 27, 2024

Background

Identifying occlusive myocardial infarction (OMI) on electrocardiograms (ECGs) after resuscitated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains challenging. Even in the absence of ST-elevation, acute lesions may still be present. We evaluated OMI prediction in post-OHCA ECGs by an artificial intelligence (AI) model (PMCardio-Queen of Hearts [Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency registered and CE certified]).

Methods

In this retrospective study, the Al model was used to predict OMI on post-return of spontaneous circulation 12 lead ECGs of unselected OHCA patients who underwent coronary angiography at operator discretion in two high-volume cardiac arrest centers. AI predictions were compared to invasive coronary angiographic findings.

OMI was defined as elevated troponin by the fourth universal myocardial infarction definition with an acute culprit coronary stenosis with reduced flow (Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction flow grade S 2). We then evaluated the Al model’s performance for identifying angiographically confirmed OMI.

Results

A total of 160 OHCA cases were included, with a mean age of 64.9 +/- 14.92 years; 74% were male, and 80% had shockable rhythms. ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction criteria were present in 38% of cases, and 20% had a bundle branch block. On invasive coronary angiography, OMI was identified in 61% of cases.

The Al model demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.887 (95% Cl: 0.80-0.97), specificity of 0.814 (95% CI: 0.74-0.88), and a positive predictive value of 0.708 (95% CI: 0.612-0.804) with an area under the curve of 0.85.

Conclusion

The AI model demonstrates high sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value for OMI. However, since it was not specifically trained on post–return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) ECGs, further training on OHCA datasets is necessary to enhance its accuracy in detecting ECG changes suggestive of OMI in post-OHCA patients.

This application may serve as a valuable adjunct to clinical assessment in identifying OHCA patients who could benefit from life-saving coronary intervention.

Authors: Uzma Sajjad, Rupert Simpson, Sarosh Khan, Michael McGarvey, Muhamad Abd Razak, Klio Konstantinou, Christopher Cook, Nilesh Pareek, Xue Qiang, Grigoris Karamasis, Thomas Keeble, John Davies

Author-Logo_PM
Powerful Medical leads one of the most important shifts in modern medicine by augmenting human-made clinical decisions with artificial intelligence. Our primary focus is on cardiovascular diseases, the world’s leading cause of death.

About PMcardio

PMcardio is a CE-certified AI that reads ECGs and offers a complex assessment of 49 cardiac conditions. Clinically validated in 15+ studies and trusted by over 100,000 clinicians, it delivers rapid, expert‑level interpretations, empowering emergency physicians, GPs, nurses, paramedics, and cardiologists to act with confidence at the point of care. Available for Individuals and Organizations.

About Powerful Medical

Established in 2017, Powerful Medical has embarked on a mission to revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. We are a medical company backed by 28 world-class cardiologists and led by our expert Scientific Board with decades of experience in daily patient care, clinical research, and medical devices. The results of our research are implemented, developed, certified, and brought to market by our 50+ strong interdisciplinary team of physicians, data scientists, AI experts, software engineers, regulatory specialists, and commercial teams.

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Relevant Publications

Bifascicular Block Associated With Myocardial Infarction: A Marker of Proximal Left Anterior Descending Artery Occlusion Confirmed by the Artificial Intelligence-Based Smartphone App Queen of Hearts

This single-patient case report describes an elderly man presenting with chest pain, hypotension, and bifascicular block (BFB)—a combination of right bundle branch block (RBBB) and left anterior fascicular block (LAFB)—whose ECG showed QRS‑concordant anterior and lateral ST‑segment elevation consistent with a STEMI‑equivalent / occlusive myocardial infarction (OMI) pattern. Urgent coronary angiography revealed a long, severely calcified, near‑occlusive proximal left anterior descending (LAD) artery lesion, successfully treated with primary PCI and drug‑eluting stent implantation, achieving TIMI 3 flow. The Queen of Hearts (PMcardio) AI‑based smartphone app correctly classified the ECG as STEMI‑equivalent, identified atrial flutter and BFB, and predicted reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, later confirmed by echocardiography (EF 38%). This case underscores BFB with concordant anterior ST elevation as a high‑risk marker of proximal LAD‑culprit OMI and provides anecdotal evidence that specialized AI‑enabled ECG interpretation can support rapid, accurate decision‑making in ACS. 

Artificial Intelligence Versus Human Expertise: ECG-Based Detection of Occlusive Myocardial Infarction After Cardiac Arrest

This single-centre study tested whether AI-based ECG analysis can detect occlusive myocardial infarction (OMI) after cardiac arrest using post-ROSC ECGs from 97 patients with subsequent coronary angiography. A dedicated deep neural network (Queen of Hearts, QoH) achieved the highest discrimination for acute coronary occlusion (AUC 0.85) and OMI (AUC 0.75), outperforming human experts, with a more balanced trade-off between sensitivity and specificity. In contrast, two large language model–based chatbots (ChatGPT and a GPT-based EKG Analyst) showed near-perfect sensitivity but almost no specificity, labelling nearly all ECGs as OMI and thus providing no meaningful diagnostic discrimination. These findings suggest that specialized ECG-trained AI, such as QoH, may serve as a useful adjunct in post-resuscitation decision-making. In contrast, general-purpose LLMs are currently unsuitable for critical ECG diagnosis.

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