Artificial intelligence and digital innovation now offer a real opportunity to close the gap in how women’s heart disease is detected, monitored, and treated.
Ami Bhatt, M.D., FACC
Chief Innovation Officer, American College of Cardiology
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for women, yet too many still experience delayed diagnoses or dismissed symptoms. Fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, and atypical chest discomfort are common warning signs in women, but they have historically been underweighted in clinical decision-making. Artificial intelligence and digital innovation now offer a real opportunity to close this gap, not as abstract technology, but as practical tools reshaping how women’s heart disease is detected, monitored, and treated.
AI is already changing how cardiovascular risk is identified. Reporting highlighted by Reuters has described large studies showing that AI models applied to routine electrocardiograms can flag patients who would benefit from further cardiac imaging, even when standard interpretations appear normal. In widely cited examples, these tools identified a significantly higher proportion of patients with underlying structural heart disease than traditional reads, enabling earlier detection at scale. This matters for women, whose heart disease often presents more subtly and is more likely to be missed until later stages.
Digitizing the landscape of care
Digital innovation is also transforming where and how care happens. Wearables, remote blood pressure monitoring, and mobile rhythm tracking allow clinicians to follow patients over time, rather than relying solely on episodic office visits. Research from Rock Health shows that women consistently make up the majority of digital health users, with roughly 60 to 65 percent reporting use of at least one digital health tool, compared with about half of men. That engagement is not incidental. Continuous data better reflects women’s real-world physiology and lowers barriers for those balancing work, caregiving, and their own health.
At the same time, expectations for innovation have shifted. Research from the Peterson Health Technology Institute in 2025 found that roughly three-quarters of health systems and payers now expect AI-enabled tools to demonstrate measurable clinical or operational impact before purchase or renewal. Innovation is no longer rewarded for novelty alone. It is expected to integrate into clinical workflows, reduce burden, and improve outcomes. For women’s heart care, this shift is critical, because earlier detection and sustained follow-up can meaningfully change long-term health.
Both — not one or the other
Progress, however, is not automatic. AI systems must be trained and evaluated on data that adequately represents women across age, race, ethnicity, and life stage, including pregnancy and menopause. Without intentional design and governance, digital tools risk reproducing existing inequities at speed and scale.
Women in healthcare therefore play a central role as leaders shaping how they are built, evaluated, and implemented. Digital literacy, clinical insight, and systems thinking are no longer optional skills. They are foundational to ensuring innovation improves care rather than distorting it.
AI and digital health will not replace clinical judgment or human connection. At their best, they enhance our ability to listen, recognize risk, and act sooner. Women are uniquely positioned to lead this shift, turning digital health into simply health, embedded seamlessly into everyday life.
