‘A moment of real opportunity’: How decades of rich data means heart patients are poised to rapidly benefit from the AI healthcare revolution, experts say
Impact that would have taken decades of painstaking work could be achieved in just a few years as we ‘bet big’ with AI Grand Challenge
The wealth of cardiovascular disease data in existence means that the treatment and care of heart patients is set to be revolutionised by artificial intelligence-powered research, health leaders have said today.
The comments came at a ‘Hearts in the age of AI’ gathering of science and tech leaders hosted by us. We have launched our first of a series of Grand Challenges – with the first focused on AI.
"Unlock medical information"
A panellist at the event, Professor Cathie Sudlow OBE, Director of the Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh and author of a major review for UK Government of the UK’s health data landscape, said:
“Cardiovascular disease is a powerful example of how data and technology can make a real difference to people’s lives. Using AI, we have an opportunity to unlock medical information in entirely new ways, to help us better understand disease, improve disease prevention, detection and diagnosis, and deliver better care to patients.
"This is a moment of real opportunity. The UK has extremely rich data relevant to cardiovascular disease collected over many decades. These data are increasingly accessible to analyse safely and securely for patient and public benefit. The depth and breadth of the data means that AI technologies could be used to deliver rapid, meaningful improvements to cardiovascular patients.”
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of premature death worldwide and is responsible for one in four deaths in the UK. While huge strides have been made in reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease since the 1960s, progress has begun to plateau in the past decade, and the UK even seeing an uptick in premature deaths from cardiovascular disease in working age people in recent years. AI could prove key to supercharging progress in reducing deaths from cardiovascular in the years to come.
Revolutionised by AI
The high numbers of patients, well established registries, and widely used clinical tools such as ECGs, scans and echocardiograms, coupled with data from genetic and biochemical analyses, mean that the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease is well placed to be revolutionised by AI.
Professor Bryan Williams OBE, our chief scientific and medical officer, said:
“Back when I was training, if a patient came in with a serious heart condition, you often had to prepare to speak to their loved ones and tell them that they wouldn’t be coming home. Thanks to scientific research we have made enormous strides since then in tackling cardiovascular diseases and saving lives.
“Now we must take the next leap forward, because cardiovascular diseases are still the world’s biggest killer, taking someone’s life every three minutes in the UK.
“Artificial intelligence can fast-forward better prevention, improved diagnosis and the discovery of more effective drugs and treatments. It can also help democratise high-quality care across the system, so wherever you are in the UK, you can access the same standard of care.”
To combat the ongoing challenge cardiovascular disease poses, we have decided to ‘bet big’ on a series of Grand Challenges which are tasking the research community to combine forces and develop innovative research programmes which will ultimately have the biggest possible positive impact on patients.
The theme of the first Grand Challenge, which is currently open to submissions, is “AI-powered transformation in cardiovascular health: from discovery to clinical practice”.
Artificial intelligence is already transforming the care of heart patients, with our funding of research projects using AI having accelerated in recent years.
£10 million
Now, we are looking to award up to £10 million to at least one project that aims to deliver a transformational advance in how AI can be used to tackle cardiovascular disease. Researchers, led by a principal investigator at a UK research institution, have until August 2026 to submit their outline applications.
Teams entering the competition will be expected to bring together knowledge, talent and resources from multiple fields and sectors, working on a scale that goes above and beyond standard research programmes. This can include contributions from across the UK and the world, academia and industry.
Winning applications will be expected to engage with patients over the whole course of the project to produce real improvements for those who need them most.
"AI doesn’t go to sleep"
Professor Williams continued:
“AI doesn’t get tired, and AI doesn’t go to sleep. It can continuously support clinicians and help identify those at hidden risk of cardiovascular disease in seconds. This technological revolution also means that painstaking work that would have previously taken decades, can now be achieved in a few years. That is why the British Heart Foundation is taking a big bet on this transformative technology through the Cardiovascular Grand Challenges.”
The British Heart Foundation is underwriting this initial Grand Challenge, but critically is looking for visionary philanthropists and corporate partners to support funding of future projects of a similar scale. Its vital work could not be possible without partners and major donors who make pivotal projects such as our Grand Challenge programme a reality.