22 October 2025
A new international study, involving researchers at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals (RBHH), has shown that artificial intelligence (AI) could help transform how doctors assess risk and decide on treatment for patients with the most common type of heart attack.
The findings suggest that some patients could benefit from a review of their treatment plans, which may offer opportunities to improve how heart attack care is managed globally.
Risk scores
Doctors currently use a clinical tool called the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score to estimate the risk of death or complications in patients with acute coronary syndrome.
Acute coronary syndrome is an umbrella term for heart attacks caused by blocked arteries. This includes cases where an artery is completely blocked (STEMI) and those where it is only partially blocked (NSTEMI-ACS).
The GRACE score is widely used and is part of international clinical guidelines to assess risk in NSTEMI-ACS. However, experts have long recognised that existing tools don’t always capture the full complexity of these patients, in particular in female patients.
How researchers used AI to help improve the scoring system
In the largest study of its kind, researchers looked at the health data of more than 600,000 patients with NSTEMI across 10 countries and used AI to re-examine data from a major clinical trial called VERDICT, teaching the model to recognise which patients benefit most from early invasive treatment including angiography and stenting.
Using an updated version of the scoring system, GRACE 3.0, which uses AI, the new system was able to identify which patients benefitted most from early procedures like angiography and stent placement, and which patients saw little or no benefit. It was also able to accurately predict in-hospital and 1-year mortality risk.
It is hoped that new GRACE 3.0 score will help doctors in routine clinical practice, offering a simple, validated, and AI-powered tool to deliver more personalised and effective care for heart attack patients.
Professor Thomas Lüscher, consultant cardiologist and director of research, education and development at RBHH, is a senior author of the paper and said:
“GRACE 3.0 is the most advanced and practical tool yet for treating patients with the most common type of heart attacks. It not only predicts risk more accurately but also guides personalised treatment. This could reshape future clinical guidelines and help to save lives.”
You can read the full paper in The Lancet Digital Health.
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