Many Support Use of AI in Heart Health, Survey Finds

CLEVELAND – Cleveland Clinic’s new survey shows three in five Americans believe artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to bettering heart care.

“One of our concerns was always the level of trust the public would have with using AI, so finding that a majority of people see the value in using AI for health purposes was very interesting,” said Ashish Surraju, MD, cardiologist for Cleveland Clinic.

He said there are many ways in which AI could be helpful in the medical field.

“Some examples include being able to use AI to help process data for certain studies like echocardiograms, or CT scans, or MRI and free up some of the more basic data processing tasks to AI,” he explained.

Wearable technology also seems to be growing in popularity.

50% of those polled use at least one type of technology to monitor their health, with daily step count being the most tracked.

This led to positive changes both physically and mentally.

In fact, 53% said they started exercising more regularly.

“These devices provide so much data that one could imagine that patients may get more anxious,” said Dr. Sarraju. “So, I suspect this suggests that folks know this data isn’t necessarily supposed to make them feel anxious but feel more empowered.”

However, he notes it’s still important to consult with a physician when making medical decisions.

“Sometimes it’s hard to know what’s important data and what shouldn’t concern you. I think that’s where speaking with a healthcare professional would be helpful,” he said.