Enhancing Heart Disease Diagnosis with Hybrid Machine Learning Models: A Case Study
Received: 19 May 2025 | Revised: 10 June 2025, 28 June 2025, and 30 June 2025 | Accepted: 3 July 2025 | Online: 6 October 2025
Corresponding author: Ahmed Yousif Falih Saedi
Abstract
Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, prompting extensive research into accurate and early detection methods. Recent advancements have highlighted the critical role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in enhancing diagnostic precision. This study explores the effectiveness of hybrid ML models in diagnosing heart disease, specifically focusing on two novel combinations: Random Forest (RF) integrated with Sequential Minimal Optimization (SMO) and J48 decision trees augmented with Logistic Regression (LR). Using a comprehensive heart disease dataset, the models were evaluated based on their classification accuracy, class separability, and risk prediction capability. Both models incorporated advanced preprocessing, cross-validation, and hyperparameter optimization techniques. The RF–SMO model achieved an accuracy of 97% and a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) area of 0.97, while the J48–LR model attained 92% accuracy with a ROC area of 0.96. These findings underscore the potential of hybrid ML approaches to enhance cardiac diagnostics, offering valuable tools for clinical decision support and the advancement of personalized healthcare.
Keywords:
random forest, sequential minimal optimization, machine learning, heart disease, J48, logistic regressionDownloads
References
E. Stamate et al., "Revolutionizing Cardiology through Artificial Intelligence—Big Data from Proactive Prevention to Precise Diagnostics and Cutting-Edge Treatment—A Comprehensive Review of the Past 5 Years," Diagnostics, vol. 14, no. 11, May 2024, Art. no. 1103.
C. R. Olsen, R. J. Mentz, K. J. Anstrom, D. Page, and P. A. Patel, "Clinical applications of machine learning in the diagnosis, classification, and prediction of heart failure," American Heart Journal, vol. 229, pp. 1–17, Nov. 2020.
C. J. Ejiyi et al., "Enhanced Cardiovascular Disease Prediction Modelling using Machine Learning Techniques: A Focus on CardioVitalnet," Network: Computation in Neural Systems, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 716–748, Jul. 2025.
M. Ahsan, A. Khan, K. R. Khan, B. B. Sinha, and A. Sharma, "Advancements in medical diagnosis and treatment through machine learning: A review," Expert Systems, vol. 41, no. 3, Mar. 2024, Art. no. e13499.
T. Rastogi and N. Girerd, "Enhancing machine learning-based survival prediction models for patients with cardiovascular diseases," International Journal of Cardiology, vol. 410, Sep. 2024, Art. no. 132195.
I. U. Haq, K. Chhatwal, K. Sanaka, and B. Xu, "Artificial Intelligence in Cardiovascular Medicine: Current Insights and Future Prospects," Vascular Health and Risk Management, vol. Volume 18, pp. 517–528, Jul. 2022.
M. A. Islam, M. Z. H. Majumder, M. S. Miah, and S. Jannaty, "Precision healthcare: A deep dive into machine learning algorithms and feature selection strategies for accurate heart disease prediction," Computers in Biology and Medicine, vol. 176, Jun. 2024, Art. no. 108432.
P. Theerthagiri, "Predictive analysis of cardiovascular disease using gradient boosting based learning and recursive feature elimination technique," Intelligent Systems with Applications, vol. 16, Nov. 2022, Art. no. 200121.
P. K. Reddy, P. M. Vamsi, C. R. Kumar, K. V. Y. Kumar, P. J. Reddy, and K. L. Nisha, "Predictive Analysis from Patient Health Records Using Machine Learning," in 2023 4th International Conference for Emerging Technology (INCET), Belgaum, India, May 2023, pp. 1–6.
B. Saleh, A. Saedi, A. al-Aqbi, and L. Salman, "Analysis of Weka Data Mining Techniques for Heart Disease Prediction System," International Journal of Medical Reviews, vol. 7, no. 1, Jan. 2020.
S. Karthikeyini, G. Vidhya, T. Vetriselvi, and K. Deepa, "Heart Disease Prognosis Using D-GRU with Logistic Chaos Honey Badger Optimization in IoMT Framework," Information Technology and Control, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 367–380, Jul. 2023.
S. Umamaheswari, A. B. F. Khan, R. Jayabrabu, and A. A. Ali, "Fuzzy rules-based Data Analytics and Machine Learning for Prognosis and Early Diagnosis of Coronary Heart Disease," Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 167–181, Jun. 2024.
L. B. Elvas, M. Nunes, J. C. Ferreira, M. S. Dias, and L. B. Rosário, "AI-Driven Decision Support for Early Detection of Cardiac Events: Unveiling Patterns and Predicting Myocardial Ischemia," Journal of Personalized Medicine, vol. 13, no. 9, Sep. 2023, Art. no. 1421.
C. M. M. Mansoor, S. K. Chettri, and H. M. M. Naleer, "Development of an efficient novel method for coronary artery disease prediction using machine learning and deep learning techniques," Technology and Health Care, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 4545–4569, Nov. 2024.
F. Li, Y. Chen, and H. Xu, "Coronary heart disease prediction based on hybrid deep learning," Review of Scientific Instruments, vol. 95, no. 1, Jan. 2024, Art. no. 015115.
N. S. Alharbi, H. Jahanshahi, Q. Yao, S. Bekiros, and I. Moroz, "Enhanced Classification of Heartbeat Electrocardiogram Signals Using a Long Short-Term Memory–Convolutional Neural Network Ensemble: Paving the Way for Preventive Healthcare," Mathematics, vol. 11, no. 18, Sep. 2023, Art. no. 3942.
H. Sutanto, "Transforming clinical cardiology through neural networks and deep learning: A guide for clinicians," Current Problems in Cardiology, vol. 49, no. 4, Apr. 2024, Art. no. 102454.
M. M. Suhail and T. A. Razak, "Cardiac disease classification from ECG signals using hybrid recurrent neural network method," Advances in Engineering Software, vol. 174, Dec. 2022, Art. no. 103298.
T. Mohammadi et al., "Unsupervised Machine Learning with Cluster Analysis in Patients Discharged after an Acute Coronary Syndrome: Insights from a 23,270-Patient Study," The American Journal of Cardiology, vol. 193, pp. 44–51, Apr. 2023.
M. C. Williams et al., "Unsupervised learning to characterize patients with known coronary artery disease undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging," European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, vol. 50, no. 9, pp. 2656–2668, Jul. 2023.
A. M. S. Omar, M. C. Lancaster, S. Narula, A. Baiomi, J. Narula, and P. Sengupta, "Computational Unsupervised Clustering of Echocardiographic Variables for the Assessment of Diastolic Dysfunction Severity," Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 71, no. 11, Mar. 2018, Art. no. A1519.
S. Anika, M. Islam, and A. Palit, "Early Prediction of Coronary Heart Disease Using Hybrid Machine Learning Models," in Asia Pacific Advanced Network, 2024, vol. 1995, pp. 63–75.
P. Dhaka, R. Sehrawat, and P. Bhutani, "An Innovative Approach to Cardiovascular Disease Prediction: A Hybrid Deep Learning Model," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 12396–12403, Dec. 2023.
A. Almulihi et al., "Ensemble Learning Based on Hybrid Deep Learning Model for Heart Disease Early Prediction," Diagnostics, vol. 12, no. 12, Dec. 2022, Art. no. 3215.
Y. Wu and M. Liu, "Hybrid Deep Learning Model Based on Sparse Recurrent Architecture," Journal of Circuits, Systems and Computers, vol. 33, no. 07, May 2024, Art. no. 2450120.
C. A. U. Hassan et al., "Effectively Predicting the Presence of Coronary Heart Disease Using Machine Learning Classifiers," Sensors, vol. 22, no. 19, Sep. 2022, Art. no. 7227.
Y. Zhao, E. P. Wood, N. Mirin, S. H. Cook, and R. Chunara, "Social Determinants in Machine Learning Cardiovascular Disease Prediction Models: A Systematic Review," American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 596–605, Oct. 2021.
V. A. Ardeti, V. R. Kolluru, G. T. Varghese, and R. K. Patjoshi, "An overview on state-of-the-art electrocardiogram signal processing methods: Traditional to AI-based approaches," Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 217, May 2023, Art. no. 119561.
B. J. Saleh, A. Y. F. Saedi, A. T. Q. Al-Aqbi, and L. A. Salman, "A Review Paper: Analysis of Weka Data Mining Techniques Forheart Disease Prediction System," Library Philosophy and Practice, vol. 4032, Aug. 2020.
A. A. Mohsen, K. Naoufel, T. Alrashahy, and S. Noaman, "Classification and Diagnosis of Heart Disease Using Machine Learning." In Review, Feb. 27, 2024.
I. O. Lawal and O. R. Vincent, "Heart Disease Diagnosis Using Data Mining Techniques and a Decision Support System," in 2022 5th Information Technology for Education and Development (ITED), Abuja, Nigeria, Nov. 2022, pp. 1–7.
O. Gold and A. Iorshase, "Heart failure prediction framework using random forest and J48 with Adaboost algorithms," Science World Journal, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 165–175, Oct. 2023.
D. Shah, S. Patel, and S. K. Bharti, "Heart Disease Prediction using Machine Learning Techniques," SN Computer Science, vol. 1, no. 6, Nov. 2020, Art. no. 345.
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ahmed Yousif Falih Saedi, Raoof Talal Hussein, Dhari Ali Mahmood Ghrairi

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after its publication in ETASR with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.