Artificial intelligence-enhanced electrocardiography analysis as a promising tool for predicting obstructive coronary artery disease in patients with stable angina

Abstract

Aims The clinical feasibility of artificial intelligence (AI)-based electrocardiography (ECG) analysis for predicting obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been sufficiently validated in patients with stable angina, especially in large sample sizes. Methods and results A deep learning framework for the quantitative ECG (QCG) analysis was trained and internally tested to derive the risk scores (0-100) for obstructive CAD (QCG(ObstCAD)) and extensive CAD (QCG(ExtCAD)) using 50 756 ECG images from 21 866 patients who underwent coronary artery evaluation for chest pain (invasive coronary or computed tomography angiography). External validation was performed in 4517 patients with stable angina who underwent coronary imaging to identify obstructive CAD. The QCG(ObstCAD) and QCG(ExtCAD) scores were significantly increased in the presence of obstructive and extensive CAD (all P < 0.001) and with increasing degrees of stenosis and disease burden, respectively (all P-trend < 0.001). In the internal and external tests, QCG(ObstCAD) exhibited a good predictive ability for obstructive CAD [area under the curve (AUC), 0.781 and 0.731, respectively] and severe obstructive CAD (AUC, 0.780 and 0.786, respectively), and QCG(ExtCAD) exhibited a good predictive ability for extensive CAD (AUC, 0.689 and 0.784). In the external test, the QCG(ObstCAD) and QCG(ExtCAD) scores demonstrated independent and incremental predictive values for obstructive and extensive CAD, respectively, over that with conventional clinical risk factors. The QCG scores demonstrated significant associations with lesion characteristics, such as the fractional flow reserve, coronary calcification score, and total plaque volume. Conclusion The AI-based QCG analysis for predicting obstructive CAD in patients with stable angina, including those with severe stenosis and multivessel disease, is feasible.