Tulane University researcher advances cardiovascular disease prevention through AI and community-based care

A new project at Tulane University is exploring how artificial intelligence can support cardiovascular disease prevention by combining digital tools with community-based care. Known as Heartline, the initiative brings together AI, community health workers, and faith-based organizations to help individuals make sustainable lifestyle changes. The project is led by Farah Allouch, assistant professor in epidemiology at the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (WSPH), and builds on her years of experience working in community-centered health interventions. The project is supported by a seed grant from the Connolly Alexander Institute for Data Science (CAIDS) and WSPH.

The concept for Heartline emerged from Allouch’s work on a church-based cardiovascular disease prevention trial in New Orleans, where she observed firsthand the impact of community health workers on participant outcomes. “I've been a co-investigator working on a church-based cardiovascular disease prevention trial for the past four years or so. I've been managing community health workers directly and seeing the impact their health education and care management approach has had on our participants in the study,” she said.

While participating in the cardiovascular disease prevention trial, Allouch was developing an interest in artificial intelligence and began considering how these approaches could intersect. This prompted her to explore whether AI could play a more active role in prevention-focused care, which ultimately led to the creation of Heartline.  

Heartline focuses on a persistent challenge in cardiovascular care: helping individuals adopt and maintain lifestyle changes. In the church-based trial, approximately 80 percent of participants were hesitant to begin medication, even when it was clinically recommended. This resistance often reflects a broader concern about how treatment is approached. “A lot of the time, people feel like medications are just putting a Band-Aid on the problem,” Allouch said. In response, Heartline is designed to make lifestyle-based interventions more practical, personalized, and accessible.

To support this goal, the project uses an evidence-based approach to artificial intelligence. Rather than relying on open-ended systems, Heartline uses retrieval augmented generation (RAG) to ensure that responses are grounded in curated, trusted materials provided by the research team. This approach is designed to improve reliability and reduce the risk of incorrect or misleading outputs, known as AI hallucinations.

The Heartline platform is intended to provide real-time, practical support for users as they make everyday health decisions. Rather than offering only general recommendations, the system can generate personalized guidance aligned with established dietary patterns that are proven to reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease. “You can say ‘give me a week-long grocery list for a family of two that aligns with the DASH diet or with the Mediterranean diet,’ which are the two diets with strong evidence supporting their role in reducing cardiovascular disease,” Allouch said. By translating clinical guidance into concrete, day-to-day actions, the tool aims to reduce barriers that often prevent individuals from following through on lifestyle changes.

A central feature of Heartline is its hybrid model, which combines AI-driven support with existing healthcare relationships. Rather than replacing clinicians or community health workers, the platform is designed to extend their reach by supporting patients between visits and offering guidance in real time.

Community engagement is a core component of the project, particularly through partnerships with the churches involved in the original trial. Rather than designing the technology in isolation, the research team is working directly with community members throughout the development process to ensure the tool reflects their needs, preferences, and lived experiences. “After each session, we will go back and incorporate the feedback that we got into the design of the prototype,” Allouch said.

The seed grant is also supporting this iterative, community-informed design process, allowing the team to refine Heartline based on real-world input before scaling the platform.

Heartline aims to support not only immediate behavior change but also long-term engagement with cardiovascular health. By combining personalized AI guidance with community-based care, the project seeks to expand access to prevention-focused support and empower individuals to take an active role in their health.

“I can't think of anything that is more motivational than realizing that you can do it yourself,” Allouch said.