Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women worldwide. Yet the disease is often detected late or not at all, The Guardian reports.
At the same time, many women regularly undergo breast cancer screening.
Israeli researchers have therefore investigated whether these existing examinations can provide doctors with more information about women's health.
Researchers examined nearly 100,000 scans
The researchers analysed 97,364 mammograms from 29,921 women. The women were 54 years old on average.
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By comparing the scans with the women's medical records, the researchers found that 16 percent had high blood pressure, according to The Guardian.
A further 2.5 percent had coronary heart disease, while 2.5 percent had previously suffered a stroke.
The researchers are continuing to improve the accuracy of the method and reduce the risk of incorrect results.
Artificial intelligence detected signs of heart disease
What makes the study distinctive is that the researchers used artificial intelligence to analyse the mammograms.
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The model was able to identify women who had suffered a stroke with an accuracy of 86 percent.
The figure was 79 percent for high blood pressure and 78 percent for coronary heart disease, according to The Guardian.
The findings suggest that mammograms could potentially be used for more than detecting breast cancer in the future.
They could also help identify signs of cardiovascular disease in women. However, further research is needed before the method can be used in routine clinical care.
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This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.