Federated learning for cardiovascular disease prediction: a systematic review of clinical applications, validation, and translation readiness - Report - MDSpire

Federated learning for cardiovascular disease prediction: a systematic review of clinical applications, validation, and translation readiness

  • By

  • Jie Li

  • Wei Xiang

  • Dandan Shang

  • Shujuan Li

  • Qin Li

  • June 8, 2026

  • 0 min

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Clinical Report: A Systematic Review of Federated Learning Applications in Cardiovascular Disease Prediction

Overview

This systematic review evaluates the implementation of federated learning in cardiovascular disease prediction, highlighting its potential while noting significant gaps in clinical validation and readiness for real-world application. The findings emphasize the need for improved validation methods and operational feasibility to enhance the deployment of these models.

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of mortality globally, necessitating effective predictive models for early detection and management. Traditional machine learning approaches face challenges due to data privacy concerns and institutional data silos, limiting the potential for multi-center collaboration. Federated learning presents a solution by enabling model training across institutions without sharing sensitive patient data, thus addressing privacy issues while leveraging diverse datasets.

Data Highlights

No numerical data available in the source material.

Key Findings

  • Twenty-two studies were reviewed, covering various cardiovascular prediction tasks.
  • Most studies utilized horizontal federated learning with FedAvg baselines.
  • Federated learning performance often approached or exceeded centralized training benchmarks.
  • The evidence base was predominantly retrospective, with inconsistent reporting on validation and privacy safeguards.
  • Key adoption priorities include external validation, subgroup fairness monitoring, and robust privacy measures.

Clinical Implications

The findings suggest that while federated learning holds promise for enhancing cardiovascular disease prediction, there is a critical need for rigorous validation and operational frameworks to ensure clinical readiness. Healthcare professionals should be aware of the limitations in current evidence and the importance of robust validation strategies.

Conclusion

Federated learning represents a significant advancement in the privacy-preserving prediction of cardiovascular disease, yet further research is necessary to establish its clinical efficacy and readiness for widespread implementation.

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  2. JMIR Medical Informatics, 2026 -- Multimodal Fusion of Echocardiogram Images and Electronic Medical Records for Heart Disease Screening: Retrospective Algorithm Development and Validation Study
  3. Basic Research in Cardiology, 2023 -- A Cardiologist's Perspective on Utilizing Machine Learning for Predicting Outcomes in Cardiovascular Disease
  4. npj Digital Medicine, 2026 -- Computer vision applications in vascular surgery: a systematic review and critical appraisal
  5. Development and Validation of the American Heart Association Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease EVENTs (PREVENT) Equations - PMC
  6. FUTURE-AI: international consensus guideline for trustworthy and deployable artificial intelligence in healthcare | The BMJ, 2024
  7. Randomized Controlled Trials Evaluating Artificial Intelligence in Cardiovascular Care: A Systematic Review - PMC
  8. Development and Validation of the American Heart Association Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease EVENTs (PREVENT) Equations - PMC
  9. FUTURE-AI: international consensus guideline for trustworthy and deployable artificial intelligence in healthcare | The BMJ
  10. Randomized Controlled Trials Evaluating Artificial Intelligence in Cardiovascular Care: A Systematic Review - PMC

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