Take a peek into your heart's future

bangalore: want to know what the chances of getting a heart attack are 10 years from now? you could find out with a system developed in bangalore that was launched by it secretary vivek kulkarni on sunday on the occasion of world heart day. called cardiacrisk, the programme computes and prints the probability of a cardiac event in the coming years based on simple data provided by the patient on his present lifestyle and status.``essentially an artificial intelligence based cardiac risk group analysis system on the internet, the system is designed to conduct multi-factor risk analysis on those above the age of 30 who are most prone to heart attacks. we believe it is the first of its kind in the world,'' says dr r.v. kumar, chairman of scalene, the organisation that developed the concept of artificial intelligence based assessment of coronary risk. the analysis of risk factors is based on four categories or levels: level 1: primary risk factor. level 2: takes in personal risk factors. level 3: is based on occupational risk factor. level 4: lifestyle risk. cardiacrisk is an interactive web based system where the patient interacts with the system alone, and all information is kept confidential. as a result scope for embarrassment for very specific and personal queries is minimal. the input required for the analysis are blood pressure, total cholesterol, hdl, fasting blood glucose, and triglycerides and other patient related information like, height, weight and age. people who have not done their blood work can obtain an online prescription for the necessary blood test. the computer would thereafter display simple questions in english, that the patient has to answer as yes or no. at the end of the session the computer will generate a detailed report indicating the risk status and factors contributing to the risk. cardiacrisk.org is a result of over 600 studies conducted world wide on risk gratification to coronary heart disease, heart attack and sudden death. the concept of web based cardiac risk gratification is for primary prevention of heart attacks, which is the cause of 91 deaths every hour in india. "it has taken 15 man years of work to finally come in its present shape,'' says shailesh samitha, managing director, adstock, which helped with the internet related aspects of system. "cardiacrisk.org is not a substitute for doctors but to aid them in risk gratification of coronary artery disease. cardiologists will get a first hand information that would aid in their treatment of the patient,'' says kumar.