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AI Stethoscopes Work, Infant BAV, and Apple’s Hypertension Feature
September 15, 2025
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Together with
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“For half a century, we bent the mortality curve on heart disease. It was quiet, consistent, lifesaving progress — until it wasn’t. Now, the numbers are flat. In some places, they’re reversing: Heart failure deaths are climbing. Hypertension is resurging. Disparities are deepening.
And the strangest part? We have more tools, more trials, more tech, and more dollars in the system than ever.”
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Jeffrey Wessler, MD
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Results from the massive TRICORDER study suggest Eko Health’s AI-powered stethoscopes could change the way primary care providers perform cardiac screening, potentially catching thousands more patients for cardiologists to treat.
- Eko’s digital stethoscopes combine sound technology and ECG sensors with cloud-based AI analysis to deliver rapid screening at the point of care.
- Some estimates suggest up to two-thirds of HF cases and a quarter of AFib cases go undiagnosed in primary care, causing symptoms to worsen until diagnosed by a cardiologist.
The TRICORDER study results encompassed 205 NHS GP practices over 12 months, with nearly 1,000 providers performing more than 12.8k AI-stethoscope exams in routine care settings, finding that the digital stethoscopes improved several disease detection rates.
- AFib detection showed the most dramatic improvement at 3.5x higher rates.
- Heart failure detection increased 2.3-fold compared to standard stethoscopes.
- Valvular heart disease detection nearly doubled at 1.9x improvement.
Given the scale of undiagnosed cardiac disease, the TRICORDER findings support expanding AI-enhanced screening capabilities across healthcare systems to catch conditions before they become acute medical emergencies, with Eko already poised to do just that.
- Plans are underway to expand Eko’s AI-enabled stethoscopes across practices in South London, Sussex, and Wales following the successful trial results.
- With over 650k FDA-cleared devices already sold globally, Eko has a strong starting point for scaling this technology across primary care networks worldwide.
The Takeaway
The TRICORDER study represents a real world look at how AI adoption can transform detection and triage during routine clinical care. When it comes to cardiovascular disease, the sooner we catch it, the better the potential long-term outcomes so why not start with our first line of care?
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Your Cardiology Data is Valuable. Put it To Work.
See how one major Midwest health system’s decision to implement Merge Cardio transformed physician and staff workflows, improved data entry speed and accuracy, and increased cost savings.
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Assessing CAD with Circle CVI
Did you know that Circle CVI offers a suite of cardiac CT tools for the assessment of coronary artery disease? See how Circle combines heart function segmentation, automated plaque analysis, CAC scoring, reporting, and viewing in a single dedicated Cardiac CT package.
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- Apple’s New Hypertension Feature: Apple’s latest smartwatch models (Series 11–Series 9) will soon detect high blood pressure using existing light-based sensors. Developed from data of 1k+ people and tested on 2k+ participants, the feature monitors blood vessel reactions over 30 days to identify hypertension signs. It’s expected to launch globally this month after FDA approval, and Apple estimates it could alert up to 1M users to undiagnosed high blood pressure in its first year, addressing a condition affecting 1.3B adults worldwide.
- Infant Bicuspid AV Progression: A JASE study uncovered new insights into the progression of aortic valve dysfunction in children born with bicuspid leaflets rather than the normal tricupid ones. The study followed 128 children with BAV diagnosed at birth and found significant progression by age three. AV regurgitation increased from 15.6% to 24.2%, while over half developed aortic dilatation with Z-scores ≥2 (53.1% vs. 8% of control). Importantly, aortic diameters were already enlarged at birth and remained consistently larger throughout follow-up.
- John Ritter Rules for Aortic Dissection: The John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health released updated “Ritter Rules,” evidence-based guidelines for thoracic aortic disease detection and management. Named after actor John Ritter who died from aortic dissection in 2003, the rules provide actionable steps including self-advocacy, accessing care, genetic counseling, and follow-up. Up to 20k Americans annually experience this often-misdiagnosed emergency. With proper diagnosis and treatment, up to 80% of patients could survive, emphasizing the importance of early detection and awareness.
- CCTA Cuts Patient Length of Stay: Sure, coronary CT angiography is equal to stress testing from a clinical standpoint, but what about economically? Researchers studied 163 patients who got either test in the emergency setting, finding that CCTA reduced length of stay by 6.5 hours. CCTA’s time benefit varied based on whether the order was placed before 12 pm (-16 vs. -6.5 hours), as earlier scans enabled same-day patient discharge.
- HCA Continues AHA Funding: The HCA Healthcare Foundation announced $3.9M in continued funding for the AHA’s “Getting to the Heart of Stroke” initiative. Since 2022, the collaboration has reached over 200M people with AFib and stroke education, expanded to 160+ community organizations, and improved stroke cause identification by 33% at participating hospitals. HCA Healthcare will now expand quality improvement efforts to all 43 comprehensive stroke centers.
- Ultrasound Improves Prenatal CHD Detection: Advances in maternal ultrasound screening have driven sharp growth in prenatal detection of congenital heart defects. In a new study in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, researchers tracked CHD detection rates in 109k infants who had heart surgeries from 2006 to 2023, finding that prenatal detection rates more than doubled (62% vs. 30%). A key factor was the 2013 addition to clinical guidelines of specific heart views like outflow tract on prenatal ultrasound scans.
- Tempus Pixel’s Updated FDA Clearance: Tempus AI received FDA 510(k) clearance for its updated Tempus Pixel cardiac imaging platform, which now generates T1 and T2 inline maps for enhanced cardiac MRI analysis. These maps provide precise tissue characterization values, helping detect conditions like fibrosis and inflammation that conventional MR images might miss. The AI-powered platform improves efficiency and accuracy, enabling clinicians to make faster, more informed decisions and deliver personalized patient care through advanced automated reporting capabilities.
- Sutra’s First MVR Patient: Sutra Medical achieved the world’s first successful implantation of its Sutra Hemi-valve Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair System at Waikato Hospital, New Zealand. The procedure treated an 83-year-old high-risk patient with severe mitral regurgitation, reducing it from severe to trace-mild MR using transfemoral delivery. The patient recovered well and was discharged on day three. This novel posterior leaflet replacement technology could help address an unmet need for the 23M patients worldwide with mitral regurgitation.
- GE to Distribute Flyrcado via CardioNavix: GE HealthCare partnered with CardioNavix (CDL Nuclear Technologies) to distribute Flyrcado, its new cardiac PET imaging agent, to nationwide outpatient settings. CardioNavix serves nearly 225 customers supporting 220k annual cardiac procedures. The collaboration aims to expand cardiac PET imaging beyond the current 5-10% of myocardial perfusion procedures, leveraging Flyrcado’s superior diagnostic efficacy over SPECT. Initial rollout begins late 2025, accelerating through 2026 to reach private cardiology practices and hospitals.
- Flu Vaccines Help Heart Health: A second look at the DANFLU-2 trial reveals that high-dose flu vaccines may help prevent cardiac complications. The trial examined myocarditis/pericarditis risk in 332k adults over 65 who were randomized to high-dose versus standard-dose influenza vaccines and found that high-dose vaccines significantly reduced myocarditis/pericarditis hospitalization risk compared to standard-dose (19 vs. 35 events).
- CCTA Quantifies Non-Calcified Plaque: Patients with non-calcified plaque are at higher risk for cardiovascular events. CAC scores don’t capture the risk, however, CCTA can help by quantifying non-calcified plaque burden. Researchers scanned 5.4k patients, of whom 67% exhibited coronary plaque and 29% had obstructive coronary artery disease. Following analysis, the study determined 1.9% had exclusively non-calcified plaque, showing CCTA’s value in detecting non-stenosing plaque.
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Vista AI Reduces Patient Backlog
Cardiac MRI is infamous for its complexity and backlogs, but it doesn’t need to be that way. See how Vista Cardiac delivered a 50% reduction in scan time variability, enabling shorter scheduling blocks and eliminating a one-month backlog.
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5,600 Ways to Improve Your Cardiac Ultrasound Workflow
AI-powered measurements can enhance the way you acquire and interpret cardiac ultrasound. Learn how AI-powered ultrasound can help you overcome everyday limitations in echo. Read Siemens Healthineers’ white paper on how its AI software provides 5,600+ automated measurements to help improve workflow efficiency, consistency, and clinical confidence.
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Monebo’s Approach to Cardiac Health Monitoring
The heart works day and night, so your cardiac monitoring software should too. Learn about how Monebo’s latest innovation superimposes long-term monitoring results onto a 24-hour circadian cycle scale, creating a comprehensive map of circadian variations.
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- Explore Vitrea Advanced Visualization: Discover Canon Medical Healthcare IT’s suite of advanced imaging workflows designed to increase efficiency in cardiovascular imaging, and facilitate the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. These cutting-edge tools support the delivery of faster, more accurate care while integrating seamlessly into clinical workflow.
- The Largest Registry on Plaque Analysis in CAD: What if 50% of your CCTA patients could benefit from an adjustment to their treatment plan? Read more about Heartflow’s DECIDE registry that demonstrates how Heartflow Plaque Analysis using its Plaque Staging software empowers physicians with clinical insights that lead to real-world impact.
- Us2.ai’s AI HF Now Possible with Handheld Echo: The latest research shows Us2.ai’s software can take handheld echocardiography beyond its standard applications. Read this EHJ study about how swiftly and accurately Us2.ai’s HF detection software detects LVEF, closely matching expert human analysis of standard cart based echocardiograms.
- Discover Innovation in Intervention: Explore how the AGENT™ Drug-Coated Balloon from Boston Scientific is advancing U.S.-based treatment options for patients with coronary artery disease. Rx Only. (Sponsored by Boston Scientific)
- PIA Medical Processes It All: Need an analysis like calcium scoring, strain or even FFR? PIA Medical began as a Core Lab and can handle creative cardiac research and clinical trials along with the full breadth of clinical analyses available today.
- Tempus Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for Tempus ECG-Low EF: Tempus announces the expansion of its Tempus ECG-AI portfolio with Tempus ECG-Low EF, software intended for use to analyze 12-lead ECG recordings and detect signs associated with having a low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF less than or equal to 40%) in patients 40 years of age or older at risk of heart failure. It is not intended as a stand-alone diagnostic and positive results may suggest the need for further clinical evaluation. For Full Indications for Use, visit here.
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