Comparative analysis of machine learning algorithms for ECG-based heart attack prediction: A study using Bangladeshi patient data

Abstract

This study aims to identify the most accurate machine learning algorithm for predicting heart attacks using demographic data, physiological measurements, and electrocardiogram (ECG) results. We utilized a dataset of 4,000 patient records, combining data from DMCH and Kaggle. Our methodology involved comprehensive data preprocessing, including ECG noise removal and feature selection using the Brouta algorithm. We implemented and compared six machine learning algorithms: Decision Tree, Random Forest, Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine, XGBoost, and K-Nearest Neighbors. The results demonstrate that our proposed method can accurately predict heart attacks with high sensitivity and specificity. Among the tested algorithms, Random Forest achieved the highest accuracy of 87%, with well-balanced precision (0.86), recall (0.85), and F1-score (0.87). K-Nearest Neighbors and XGBoost also showed strong performance, with accuracies of 81% and 80% respectively. This study contributes to the field by utilizing a large, diverse dataset and providing a comprehensive comparison of multiple algorithms. Our findings suggest the potential for integrating machine learning, particularly Random Forest models, into clinical practice for early heart attack risk assessment, representing a significant step towards improving cardiovascular care through advanced data analysis techniques.