The devastating impact of high blood pressure on our organs is often hidden from view, even when a person's readings appear normal. But a groundbreaking new AI tool has shed light on the subtle signs of damage that can be missed by traditional clinical assessments. Developed by researchers at the University of Oxford, 'HyperScore' uses artificial intelligence to identify the extent of organ damage caused by hypertension, allowing doctors to catch problems before they become severe.
The study, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), drew on data from over 27,000 participants in the UK Biobank and validated its findings using information from 5,500 individuals in the US-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. Unlike traditional methods that focus solely on blood pressure readings, HyperScore integrates hundreds of measures, including heart scans, brain MRI, assessments of blood vessels and kidneys, liver function, body composition, and various blood tests.
Dr Mohanad Alkhodari, the lead researcher, explained that high blood pressure affects people in different ways. Some may experience significant damage to vital organs even with mild hypertension, while others seem protected despite long-standing pressure on their system. The research identified six distinct patterns of hypertension-related disease, each associated with changes in the heart, brain, vascular system, kidneys, or metabolic profile.
The AI tool revealed that individuals with higher HyperScores were more likely to experience future cardiovascular problems, even when their standard blood pressure readings did not indicate this elevated risk. This suggests that HyperScore offers a more comprehensive picture of disease progression than current methods. Professor Paul Leeson, senior author from the University of Oxford's Radcliffe Department of Medicine, highlighted that computational approaches can uncover patterns of organ damage difficult to detect through blood pressure measurements alone.
The study also found that changes in brain tissue identified on MRI scans were among the strongest indicators associated with hypertension-related damage. Dr Winok Lapidaire noted that this reinforces growing evidence that high blood pressure can impact the brain long before symptoms manifest, underscoring the importance of early detection and prevention.
While the approach is still in its early stages and not yet ready for routine clinical use, experts believe it could eventually support earlier identification of individuals at risk of developing serious conditions like stroke, heart failure, or kidney disease. Jill Jones, Head of Global Health Strategy at MRC, commented that this research represents a meaningful step towards earlier disease identification to enable more timely and personalised interventions.