Artificial Intelligence and Cardiac Equity in India: Can Technology Bridge the Care Divide?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of death globally, accounting for nearly 18 million fatalities each year.This alarming trend is particularly pronounced in low-and middleincome countries (LMICs), including India, where the incidence of CVD is on the rise. 1 India confronts a distinctive "double burden" characterized by a high incidence of both communicable and noncommunicable diseases, compounded by significant disparities in healthcare access.While metropolitan regions are equipped with state-of-the-art cardiac institutes; rural and tribal communities often find themselves inadequately served, facing limitations in diagnostic facilities, a scarcity of specialists, and low levels of health literacy. 2n this context, the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI)enhanced cardiac screening presents a potentially transformative intervention.Such technological advancements have the capacity to facilitate early, scalable, and cost-effective diagnoses, thereby democratizing access to high-quality cardiovascular care for India's most underserved populations. 3,4