Narayana Health Unveils AI That Predicts Heart Failure Using ECG in Real Time

The AI tool enables early identification of heart failure and is designed for seamless integration into clinical workflows, especially in settings with limited access to ECHO, the current gold standard for assessing heart function.

Narayana Health’s Clinical Research team, in collaboration with its Advanced Analytics & AI division Medha AI, has announced the development of India’s first artificial intelligence (AI) model capable of predicting heart failure by analyzing ECG images in near real time.

The AI model, designed to detect left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), was trained using over 100,000 ECG images paired with echocardiogram reports.

It enables early identification of heart failure and is designed for seamless integration into clinical workflows, especially in settings with limited access to echocardiography (ECHO), the current gold standard for assessing heart function.

Heart failure affects nearly 10 million people in India and leads to approximately 1.8 million hospital admissions every year. Yet many rural and low-resource regions lack access to timely diagnostic tools.

Narayana Health’s AI model provides a scalable solution by using widely available ECG machines, cloud-based analytics, and embedded integration with its home-built EMR platform, Athma.

During validation across 14 tertiary centers covering more than 57,000 patients, the model identified 97% of individuals with severely reduced EF (≤35%) and flagged patients on average 58 days before echocardiography was ordered, offering critical lead time for medical intervention.

At the launch event, key Narayana Health leaders were present, including Dr Emmanuel Rupert, Managing Director and Group CEO; Dr Pradeep Narayan, Chief Scientific Officer and Lead Researcher; Dr PM Uthappa, Group Chief Medical Director; and Dr Deepak Padmanabhan, Senior Consultant and Strategic Lead for the Cardiac EP Collegium.

Dr Devi Shetty, Founder and Chairman of Narayana Health, said, “This breakthrough represents much more than an AI model, it is a reflection of what Narayana Health stands for: combining clinical expertise, deep research, and cutting-edge technology to solve real problems at scale. Detecting heart failure through a simple ECG in near real-time is a leap forward in making advanced diagnostics not just efficient but truly accessible to the masses. AI empowers us to extend the reach of high-quality care beyond hospital walls—enabling faster decisions, earlier interventions, and better outcomes. This innovation showcases India’s potential to lead the future of healthcare globally.”

The AI model has already been validated at Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre in Narayana Health City, and clinics in Bengaluru, as well as the Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences in Kolkata.

Designed for rapid triage and care planning, the tool delivers results in near real time without disrupting provider workflows, making it a promising step forward in digital health innovation in India.

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