FAITHFUL Consortium: Augmenting Heart Failure Detection with AI

At the forefront of Europe's healthcare transformation, the FAITHFUL Consortium is poised to revolutionize cardiovascular disease management. 

Launched in March 2024 and led by Idoven with support from AstraZeneca, this consortium is comprised of 14 international partners. With €1.7 million in funding from EIT Health, a European Union agency, this project aims to redefine heart failure detection in primary care by seamlessly integrating Willem, Idoven's AI-powered cardiology platform, into clinical workflows.

Heart failure ranks #1 in terms of hospital admissions

Heart failure affects 770,000 people in Spain¹ and more than 15 million in Europe². It is also the leading cause of hospitalization in people over 65 years of age as well as unscheduled hospital readmissions³. 

Heart failure is a disease that in later stages has a very high mortality rate, up to fifty percent in five years, while if detected early, the mortality rate is much lower.

- Dr. Jacob Andersson, Primary Care Physician & Deputy Director of the Gustavsberg University Health Care Center, Region Stockholm

Studies suggest that hospitalisations for HF will increase by 50% in the next 25 years⁴, mainly due to the progressive aging of the population and a growing prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity, among others.

FAITHFUL will enhance diagnostic precision, boosting primary care physicians' confidence and prompting early cardiologist intervention

FAITHFUL will focus on improving early detection of heart failure, allowing patients to start treatment sooner and prevent unnecessary side effects and disease progression, enhancing prognosis and quality of life. This approach aims to reduce hospital admissions by 40%, and cut heart failure-related healthcare costs by 69% for newly diagnosed patients through fewer hospitalizations.

This project is at the forefront of cardiovascular health, not only due to the digital transformation that it brings but also for the application of Artificial Intelligence in the clinical setting.

-Dr. César Velasco, Muñoz, Innovation & Digital Strategy Director at AstraZeneca

The project will recruit more than 2,500 European patients with risk factors associated with heart failure to demonstrate the reliability of its algorithm in the early detection of heart failure decompensation.

14 partners, one united consortium with vast expertise and a commitment to innovation. 

Under the leadership of Idoven and with support from AstraZeneca, the FAITHFUL consortium is formed by prominent health organizations, including the Servicio Madrileño de Salud (SERMAS), the Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital 12 de Octubre, the Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital Gregorio Marañón, the Fundación para la Investigación e Innovación Biosanitaria de Atención Primaria, the Institut Català de la Salut, Karolinska Institute, Region Stockholm, MADoPA - Centre Expert en Technologies et Services pour le Maintien en Autonomie à Domicile des Personnes Âgées, and the Estonian Health Insurance Fund.

Additionally, FAITHFUL counts on the collaboration of several key external partners, including the Fundación Instituto de Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (Idival), Fundació TIC Salut Social, and the Fundación del Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Médicos de Madrid (Fundación ICOMEM).

I think we are building a very nice project that will support patients and doctors all over Europe, changing the current clinical practice and allowing us to digitize the way those patients are being diagnosed

-Dr. Manuel Marina, cardiologist, and CEO of Idoven

At the forefront of AI-driven heart failure care, the FAITHFUL consortium is shaping the future of European healthcare.