AI Applied to Mammograms May Help Identify Common Cardiovascular Conditions
Researchers have developed a deep learning algorithm that can identify cardiovascular conditions by analyzing standard mammogram images. This approach could allow for early detection of heart disease during routine breast cancer screenings without requiring additional tests.
Why it matters
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in women and is often underdiagnosed; leveraging existing screening infrastructure could significantly improve preventative healthcare outcomes.
In addition to searching for breast cancer, artificial intelligence (AI) used in mammography reads may help to detect common cardiovascular diseases, according to study findings presented at the ESC Congress 2026 .
“Because mammography is already widely used, analyzing the same images for cardiovascular information could potentially offer a scalable approach without requiring an additional imaging examination. Mammography also reaches many women in midlife, an important period for recognizing and addressing cardiovascular risk,” stated presenting author Viana Copeland, MBBS , of Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of women who had undergone at least one mammogram between 2011 and 2025 at a tertiary referral center (n = 29,921).
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