ACC.26 – Dr Michael McConnell (Stanford Health Care, Stanford, CA, US) joins us to discuss findings from a prospective, multicentre clinical trial evaluating whether artificial intelligence analysis of retinal images can identify patients at elevated atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk.

Findings showed strong sensitivity and specificity in identifying those at risk of ASCVD in a diverse study cohort.

Interview Questions:

1. What is the scientific basis for using retinal imaging as a window into cardiovascular health?
2. What were the aims of this study and how was it designed?
3. What were your key findings?
4. How does AI-based retinal analysis compare to conventional cardiovascular risk scoring tools?
5. What are the practical implications — could this become a scalable screening tool in clinical practice?
6. What are your take-home messages for clinicians managing patients at cardiovascular risk?
7. What are the next steps for this research?

Recorded on-site at ACC.26, New Orleans.

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Editor: Jordan Rance
Videographer: David Ben-Harosh

Support: This is an independent interview produced by Radcliffe Cardiology.