CardioGuard

Every year in Belgium, 10 000 to 17 000 people die as a result of sudden cardiac death.

In other words, one Belgian per hour. Often, there are no symptoms or signs prior to this sudden cardiac death; it just appears out of nowhere.

Prof Bart Loeys, medical genetics, and Prof Johan Saenen, cardiology, and their team will now apply an AI algorithm developed in collaboration with Imperial College London to the Antwerp patient population. This algorithm can, based on an EKG, help better predict the risk of sudden cardiac death.

UZA has a digital database of more than 500 000 EKGs. This will be bolstered with clinical data from 9000 patients who have a genetic predisposition to sudden cardiac death. By collating this data together in a structured way and analysing it further, evidence has revealed that subtle differences in the EKG can predict the risk of sudden cardiac death.

The results of this project and AI algorithm training could be a game changer in the treatment of patients with a genetic predisposition to sudden cardiac death.