March 31, 2026- Mayo Clinic research identified a powerful new way to improve the prediction of a patient’s long-term cardiovascular disease risk by enhancing a routinely performed imaging test with artificial intelligence (AI). Heart disease develops over time and remains the leading cause of death worldwide, so identifying risk early is critical to preventing heart attack, stroke and other serious outcomes.
The study highlights the growing role of AI in helping experts uncover new insights from existing medical data. Findings were presented at the 2026 American College of Cardiology Scientific Session with simultaneous publication in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
The study followed nearly 12,000 adults for approximately 16 years. Investigators applied AI to participants’ standard coronary artery calcium scans to measure fat surrounding the heart. The findings show that the volume of heart fat could be used independently to predict cardiovascular events. It significantly improved the overall accuracy of long-term risk prediction.