When a patient develops pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), it is often life-threatening. Early detection, however, can make the condition more treatable. Recent research led by Dr. Anjali Vaidya and her team aims to change the landscape of heart failure and pulmonary vascular care.
The study published in the American Heart Journal highlights that incorporating their virtual echocardiography screening tool (VEST) into an electronic medical records system is “highly accurate in identifying patients likely to have PAH,” according to Dr. Vaidya. This advancement allows for earlier follow-up testing and treatment, connecting patients to expert care when success rates are higher.
Dr. Vaidya, Co-Director of the Advanced Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Temple University Hospital, notes the difficulty in detecting PAH: “Even in the U.S., the average time it takes for a patient to go from experiencing their first symptom to receiving an accurate diagnosis is about 2.8 years.” She emphasizes that many patients suffer from shortness of breath long before receiving a correct diagnosis.
The development of VEST involved analyzing echocardiogram data with colleagues from various departments, including Suneesh Anand, MD; Gabriela Narowska, DO; Chethan Gangireddy, MD, MBA; Martin Keane, MD; Daniel Edmundowicz, MD; Paul Forfia, MD; and John Enevoldsen. The goal was to establish criteria for what they termed a VEST score.
Another study published in the American Journal of Cardiology found that patients with positive VEST scores were identified over 200 days before being referred for PAH treatment. By then, 72% were at intermediate to high risk of death.
Dr. Vaidya’s team developed an algorithm within electronic medical records that automatically calculates a patient’s VEST score: “No one has ever created an algorithm like this before,” she states. Applied across nearly 3,500 patients’ echocardiograms within their health system, the algorithm’s scores matched manually calculated ones with 100% accuracy.
Patients with high-risk scores often did not receive referrals for specialist care as per standards: “A third of them hadn’t received that referral,” Dr. Vaidya says.
VEST’s potential impact extends beyond Temple Health’s Epic systems as interest grows nationally and internationally: “People across the country have expressed significant interest in incorporating this into their health systems.”
Dr. Vaidya concludes by highlighting opportunities for global collaboration: “I would be really proud of my team if we could make an impact and help patients on such a broader scale.”
