Based in the Philadelphia area, Charles V. Pollack, MD, has more than 35 years of experience as a researcher, clinical trialist, and educator in multiple therapeutic areas. Charles V. Pollack, MD, has received numerous honors throughout his medical career, such as distinction as the first American emergency medicine physician to become a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology. That organization is a global leader in advancing and promoting cardiovascular medicine best practices, and its official general cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal (EHJ), is a leading publication in cardiovascular medicine. In early 2026, EHJ published a pioneering study on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to estimate the risk of serious and deadly heart disease in women using their mammograms.
The study said AI technology may identify calcium deposit build-up in arteries within the breasts by analysing mammography x-rays used in regular examinations for breast cancer. Calcium deposits are a sign of atherosclerotic disease and mean a higher risk of heart attack, heart failure and stroke.
. AI-powered analysis allows doctors to evaluate the extent of calcification and the size of deposits without requiring additional scans or tests. The largest of its kind, the study involved nearly 124,000 women with no known history of heart disease who had undergone breast screenings. After analyzing the women’s mammograms, researchers placed them into four categories according to the degree of arterial calcification in their breast tissue: absent, mild, moderate, or severe calcification.
They then followed these women for approximately seven years to track the incidence and timing of any subsequent major cardiovascular events. According to the study, women with mild calcification had a 30 percent higher risk of serious cardiovascular disease than those with no calcification. Women with moderate calcification were at 70 percent greater risk, while women with severe calcification are two to three times (200-300%) more likely to develop serious heart disease. Results remained consistent across different age groups, including women under 50 years old, who are typically viewed as having low risk for a serious heart event.
Based on these findings, researchers believe AI support could meaningfully address the number of women living with undiagnosed and untreated cardiovascular disease. The management and treatment of heart disease in women can be challenging, in part, because of various hormonal and anatomical differences, as well as differences from males in the perception of symptoms of ischemia (such as angina). Dr. Hari Trivedi, the Emory University researcher who led the study, also pointed to the discrepancy between diagnosis and treatment rates for men compared to women, which has persisted despite heart disease ranking as the number one cause of death for women globally. Because many women already receive mammograms as part of routine breast cancer screenings, healthcare providers might have an earlier, less expensive, and much more convenient means of potentially identifying women at risk of heart disease.
“Policymakers could consider integrating this into existing mammography programs,” Dr. Trivedi advised, suggesting that policy changes could provide heart disease risk assessment to tens of millions of patients without requiring new infrastructure. Broadening the scope of mammograms beyond breast cancer screening may also increase incentive to engage in routine screens, potentially further improving breast cancer diagnosis rates. Almost 70 percent of women over the age of 44 follow the American Cancer Society’s guidelines for mammograph screenings, but less than 40 percent know their cholesterol levels. Dr. Trivedi’s team plans to conduct a clinical trial to test steps for integrating AI-driven mammogram analysis into existing imaging workflows and developing guidelines for patient and doctor notification. Dr. Charles V. Pollack commented on this exciting data: “As this research moves forward, I’m optimistic that pairing routine mammography with AI-driven cardiovascular risk assessment will help us detect silent heart disease earlier, personalize prevention for millions of women, and ultimately save more lives.”
