Mayo Clinic ECG-AI flags twice as many peripartum cardiomyopathy cases as routine care using portable stethoscope

Peripartum cardiomyopathy — a weak heart pump occurring during or after pregnancy — is difficult to diagnose because its symptoms mimic normal pregnancy. Black women face up to a sixteenfold greater risk compared to white women, and underserved rural and urban populations worldwide lack access to cardiac diagnostics.

Mayo Clinic developed an ECG-AI algorithm for 12-lead ECGs (FDA-cleared, licensed to Anumana) and a single-lead algorithm for AI-enabled digital stethoscopes (licensed to Eko Health) that captures ECG and heart sound recordings to predict low ejection fraction and flag peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Research with obstetric patients in Nigeria demonstrated the AI-enabled digital stethoscope has the potential to flag twice as many cases of peripartum cardiomyopathy compared to routine care. The portable technology enables cardiomyopathy diagnostics in underserved urban and rural populations globally.

• Portable, single-lead ECG-AI can dramatically expand diagnostic reach in low-resource settings
• AI detection of a treatable condition like low ejection fraction must still be interpreted in clinical context
• Addressing health disparities requires tools that are inexpensive and widely deployable, not just accurate