Heart failure affects older adults

• April 26, 2024

It occurs when there is an imbalance between the ability of the heart to pump blood and the needs of the agency. The heart can fail due to a problem of its own or because its capacity for reaction does not reach to satisfy what the organism demands of it. According to information from the Spanish Heart Foundation , the heart failure It affects around 23 million people in the world, especially people over 65.

On the other hand, Francisco Javier Gallegos Funes , member of the National System of Researchers (SNI), ensures that in addition environmental circumstances or cases of predisposition genetics that can not be avoided and only have a solution with drugs, there are other causes that cause heart failure, such as those related to lifestyle that depend solely on the willingness of each person to eliminate them, such as smoking , the alcoholism , the consumption of animal fats in excess, and the lack of physical activity .

For this reason, Fabián Torres Robles , student of the Higher School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (ESIME) Unidad Zacatenco, del National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), developed a system that through digital image processing, fuzzy logic techniques and neural networks; in less than a minute he diagnoses this condition that affects at least 750 thousand Mexicans.

The technology will be a valuable tool for doctors who do not have a specialty in cardiology. "Thanks to this system, first-contact physicians will be able to establish a diagnosis with a high degree of reliability , and based on this result, indicate to the patient preventive measures that prevent the progress of the disease, "said Torres Robles.

Considers that this technology can contribute to a significant reduction in the death rate due to heart failure , because having a first diagnosis in the family clinic strengthens the prevention and it prevents patients from getting worse, or even losing their lives before being checked by a specialist.

To establish a diagnosis of this condition the specialists are based on the criteria of the Framingham Heart Study, which is the longest research on the human heart, for the wide sample it covers, as well as the exhaustiveness and rigor of the methods used. Therefore, to establish an accurate diagnosis, specialists are based on these criteria.

The system automatically calculates the cardiothoracic index (relationship between thoracic ratio and spirometric or pulmonary capacity), and also performs image processing to locate the edges of the heart , the chest and the backbone l.

Once these data are obtained, the fuzzy logic is applied automatically and the neural networks to give the diagnosis. "Automatically determines if there is heart failure or not and what is the level of progress of the disease," said Torres.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook

If you are interested in receiving more information on this topic, do not hesitate to register with us.

Video Medicine: The Aging Heart (April 2024).