TUESDAY, Oct. 29, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Artificial intelligence can accurately detect heart murmurs in dogs, a new study finds. The AI program detects heart murmurs in canines with 90% accuracy, similar to the accuracy of expert cardiologists, researchers report.
And in more than half the cases tested, the AI completely agreed with a cardiologist’s assessment of the murmur’s seriousness. These heart murmurs are a key indicator of heart valve disease, the most common heart condition in adult dogs, researchers said. About 1 in every 30 dogs seen by a vet has a heart murmur, researchers said in background notes.
The condition is higher in small breed dogs and older dogs. Early detection is crucial, as timely medication can extend their lives, researchers said. “ Heart disease in humans is a huge health issue, but in dogs it’s an even bigger problem,” said lead investigator Andrew McDonald , a research associate in stethoscope acoustics with the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering.
“Most smaller dog breeds will have heart disease when they get older, but obviously dogs can’t communicate in the same way that humans can, so it’s up to primary care vets to detect heart disease early enough so it can be treated.” For the study, researchers started with a database of heart sounds gathered from about 1,000 patients using a digital stethoscope. They developed an AI program to check for heart murmur, then adapted it so it could be used on dogs.
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