Life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia prediction in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy using explainable electrocardiogram-based deep neural networks

• DOI: 10.1093/europace/euac054
• Publication Date: 2022-04-15T03:59:49Z
• Authors: Arjan Sammani; Rutger R van de Leur; Michiel T H M Hen...; Mathias Meine; Peter Loh; Rutger J Hassink; Daniel L Oberski; Stephane R B Heymans; Pieter A Doevendans; Folkert W Asselbergs; Anneline S J M te...; René van Es
• Keywords: Dilated Cardiomyopathy

While electrocardiogram (ECG) characteristics have been associated with life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias (LTVA) in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), they typically rely on human-derived parameters. Deep neural networks (DNNs) can discover complex ECG patterns, but the interpretation is hampered by their 'black-box' characteristics. We aimed to detect DCM patients at risk of LTVA using an inherently explainable DNN.