Heart disease should be treated just like cancer, says guest Mike McConnell, an author and expert in preventive cardiology at Stanford: Detect and stage early, then treat aggressively. In his practice, McConnell focuses on using low-dose CT imaging for detecting early coronary artery disease. He also helped pioneer the use of AI to infer cardiovascular risk from retinal scans. Such non-invasive, consumer-friendly tools could expand prevention, personalize therapy, and cut heart attacks and strokes across the board, he says. “Everybody also deserves a proactive preventive cardiologist in their phone,” McConnell tells host Russ Altman of the latest approaches to heart disease on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to [email protected]. Episode Reference Links: Stanford Profile: Michael V. McConnell, MD, MSEE Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Chapters: (00:00:00) Introduction Russ Altman introduces guest Michael McConnell, a professor of cardiology at Stanford University. (00:03:02) Reframing Heart Disease Why coronary disease should be approached the same as cancer. (00:05:46) Core Risk Factors The key drivers of cardiovascular disease, and life’s essential eight. (00:07:18) Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring How low-dose CT scanning detects disease before symptoms develop. (00:08:57) The Limits of Stress Testing Why traditional stress tests often miss early coronary disease. (00:10:18) AI in Cardiac Imaging Using AI to identify hidden risks in routine chest scans. (00:11:30) Retinal Imaging How AI analysis of retinal blood vessels can predict heart disease risk. (00:14:55) Detecting Risk Before Symptoms Why retinal and vascular changes occur long before clinical signs appear. (00:15:58) Staging Coronary Disease Using calcium scores to stage coronary disease and personalize treatment. (00:19:36) Direct-to-Consumer Prevention The rise of mobile health records, wearable devices, and AI tools. (00:22:23) Opportunities & System Challenges Balancing accessibility, guideline-based care, and healthcare system capacity. (00:25:26) AI-Powered Health Record Analysis The potential of automated reviews to identify silent risk factors. (00:27:41) Physician Adoption & System Friction Barriers to integrating early detection tools into clinical practice. (00:30:12) Advances in Treatment Overview of current cholesterol therapies and plaque stabilization. (00:33:31) Future In a Minute Rapid-fire Q&A: prevention, implementation science, and future hopes. (00:35:38) Conclusion Connect With Us:Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything WebsiteConnect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / MastodonConnect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.