How AI Sees a Heart Attack Coming Years Early

<p>Heart disease kills one person every 40 seconds. That number hasn’t changed in 30 years. Dr. John Osborne, a preventive cardiologist with two doctorates and 29 years in practice, has spent his career on a single question: why do we screen for cancers that kill a few percent of us and do nothing for the disease that kills 40%? In this episode, Jeremy and Jason sit down with Dr. Osborne to get the real story on cardiac CT with AI — the imaging technology that can detect, quantify, and track arterial plaque at sub-millimeter resolution, years before symptoms appear. If you track your bloodwork, wear a fitness device, or consider yourself health-forward — this is the conversation that fills the gap nobody warned you about.<br /><br />(Note: This episode was originally published March 16th, 2026)<br /><br /><b>Guest Link:</b><br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://clearcardio.com/" target="_blank"><b>https://clearcardio.com/</b></a></p><p><b>Key Moments:</b></p><ul><li>00:00 — Dr. Osborne’s case for preventive cardiology: why heart disease is the most under-screened killer</li><li>02:43 — How cardiac CT evolved from "iPhone 0.5" to the 2026-era AI-powered tool he uses today</li><li>05:35 — Why he gave up stress tests and heart caths in 2005 and never looked back</li><li>08:16 — What AI actually adds: seeing and quantifying plaque invisible to the human eye, down to 0.1 cubic millimeters</li><li>10:13 — When insurance pays for cardiac CT — and when it doesn’t (the preventive gray zone)</li><li>14:50 — The “cardiac colonoscopy” concept: the case for screening before symptoms, not after</li><li>18:11 — Coronary artery calcium score: the accessible $100 starting point, and what it can and can’t tell you</li><li>31:54 — Lifestyle essentials: the 50% of risk that’s modifiable regardless of genetics</li><li>35:00 — Family history decoded: why your sibling’s heart history matters more than your parents’</li><li>36:12 — Nicotine myth-busting: Dr. Osborne on the "health guru" nicotine fad and why he thinks it’s dangerous</li><li>38:05 — Supplements under scrutiny: natokinase, fish oil, red yeast rice — what the actual RCT data says</li></ul>