Contrastive Machine Learning to Quantify Hypertensive Multiorgan Damage and Identify New Disease Phenotypes: A Multinational Multimodal Study

M Mohanad Alkhodari (Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).) W Winok Lapidaire (Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).) T Turkay Kart (Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).) Z Zhaohan Xiong (Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).) S Samuel Krasner (Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).) A Andrew J. Fletcher (Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).) S Shakila Bibi (Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).) N Natalie Savage (Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).) K Katie Suriano (Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).) T Tobias R. Baumeister (Neuroinformatics for Personalized Medicine Lab, McGill University, Montreal, Canada (T.R.B., Y.I.-M.).) E Eric O. Ohuma A Ana I.L. Namburete (Oxford Machine Learning in Neuroimaging Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (A.I.L.N.).) P Pablo Lamata Y Yasser Iturria-Medina L Lucy C. Chappell (Department of Women and Children’s Health, Kings College London, United Kingdom (L.C.C.).) C Christina Y.L. Aye (Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (C.Y.L.A., L.M.).) B Basky Thilaganathan (Molecular and Clinical Science Research Institute, St George’s University of London, United Kingdom (B.T).) A Abigail Fraser L Lucy Mackillop (Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (C.Y.L.A., L.M.).) R Richard J. McManus N Ntobeko A.B. Ntusi (South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa (N.A.B.N.).) A Ahsan H. Khandoker (Healthcare Engineering Innovation Group (HEIG), Department of Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (M.A., A.H.K., L.J.H.).) L Leontios J. Hadjileontiadis (Healthcare Engineering Innovation Group (HEIG), Department of Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (M.A., A.H.K., L.J.H.).) A Adam J. Lewandowski (Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).) A Abhirup Banerjee (Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (A.B.).) P Paul Leeson

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hypertension induces structural and functional damage in multiple organs. Evidence of subclinical damage increases risk of vascular events and death but can be difficult to identify in the clinic. We developed a novel machine learning approach that quantifies current hypertension-associated multiorgan damage, mapping progression from health to advanced disease, in a pseudotemporal manner and predicts organ-specific disease progression trajectories. METHODS: We analyzed 566 multimodal imaging and nonimaging variables from 27 099 participants in the UK Biobank imaging substudy to develop a semisupervised contrastive trajectory inference (cTI) framework that models multiorgan alterations associated with hypertension exposure, including heart, brain, kidneys, vasculature, lungs, liver, and metabolic information. Model stability was validated through multiple internal validation steps, and external validity was tested on 5507 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study (ARIC). Clinical relevance was evaluated against existing risk scores and through ability to predict survival and incident multiorgan disease for up to 7 years, across both UK Biobank and ARIC. RESULTS: In the UK Biobank (mean age 63.27±7.48 years; 53.4% women) our global organ damage score (HyperScore) achieved an area under the curve of 0.964 (0.941–0.987) for identification of individuals with severe end-organ disease and robust stability in cross-validation with a mean root mean square error of 0.104±0.084. Survival odds differed significantly across HyperScore stages ( P <0.001), whereas stratification by blood pressure was nonsignificant. We further revealed 6 hypertensive disease phenotypes (HyperTrajectory), characterized by predominant cardiac, lipoprotein, atherothrombosis, brain, cardiorenal, and liver features, respectively. External testing in ARIC confirmed stability of the model, with Jensen-Shannon distances as low as 0.10 for HyperScore distributions, without significant deviation in organ damage progression patterns ( P >0.05) and consistent end-organ and outcome characteristics between ARIC and UK Biobank across HyperTrajectories. CONCLUSIONS: Machine learning–derived global organ damage scores are feasible in hypertension and enable identification of distinct hypertension-associated organ-disease phenotypes. New frameworks for hypertension assessment and monitoring using imaging to derive personalized risk assessment and phenotype-specific intervention may be achievable.

Article Details

Journal Circulation
Volume / Issue Vol. 154, Issue 4
Published July 28, 2026
Pages 316-333
ISSN 0009-7322
Publisher Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Journal Info

Circulation

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

ISSN: 0009-7322 Health Sciences

Authors (26)

M

Mohanad Alkhodari

Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).

W

Winok Lapidaire

Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).

T

Turkay Kart

Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).

Z

Zhaohan Xiong

Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).

S

Samuel Krasner

Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).

A

Andrew J. Fletcher

Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).

S

Shakila Bibi

Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).

N

Natalie Savage

Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).

K

Katie Suriano

Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).

T

Tobias R. Baumeister

Neuroinformatics for Personalized Medicine Lab, McGill University, Montreal, Canada (T.R.B., Y.I.-M.).

E

Eric O. Ohuma

A

Ana I.L. Namburete

Oxford Machine Learning in Neuroimaging Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (A.I.L.N.).

P

Pablo Lamata

Y

Yasser Iturria-Medina

L

Lucy C. Chappell

Department of Women and Children’s Health, Kings College London, United Kingdom (L.C.C.).

C

Christina Y.L. Aye

Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (C.Y.L.A., L.M.).

B

Basky Thilaganathan

Molecular and Clinical Science Research Institute, St George’s University of London, United Kingdom (B.T).

A

Abigail Fraser

L

Lucy Mackillop

Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (C.Y.L.A., L.M.).

R

Richard J. McManus

N

Ntobeko A.B. Ntusi

South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa (N.A.B.N.).

A

Ahsan H. Khandoker

Healthcare Engineering Innovation Group (HEIG), Department of Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (M.A., A.H.K., L.J.H.).

L

Leontios J. Hadjileontiadis

Healthcare Engineering Innovation Group (HEIG), Department of Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (M.A., A.H.K., L.J.H.).

A

Adam J. Lewandowski

Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility (CCRF), Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (M.A., W.L., T.K., Z.X., S.K., A.J.F., S.B., N.S., K.S., A.J.L., P.L.).

A

Abhirup Banerjee

Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (A.B.).

P

Paul Leeson