International Journal of Advanced Technology and Engineering Exploration ISSN (Print): 2394-5443    ISSN (Online): 2394-7454 Volume-13 Issue-139 June-2026
  1. 4774
    Citations
  2. 2.8
    CiteScore
An integrated machine learning and survival analysis framework for heart failure classification and prognosis

Islam D. S. Aabdalla1 and D. Vasumathi1

Department of Computer Science and Engineering,Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTUH), Hyderabad, Telangana,India1
Corresponding Author : Islam D. S. Aabdalla

Recieved : 08-October-2024; Revised : 15-May-2026; Accepted : 19-May-2026

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) significantly contributes to global morbidity and mortality, highlighting the need for strategies for early diagnosis and prognosis. This study investigates the application of machine learning (ML) techniques to improve the accuracy of HF diagnosis and survival analysis (SA). A comprehensive framework was developed by integrating four feature selection methods Kruskal-Wallis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Relief, and Chi-squared (χ²) to identify the most effective clinical features for classification. Among the evaluated classifiers, the light gradient boosting machine (LightGBM) with noise augmentation achieved the highest classification accuracy of 99.98%. Concurrently, the random survival forest (RSF) model achieved a strong concordance index (C-index) of 0.85, demonstrating its effectiveness in survival prediction. The survival modelling framework further incorporated deep survival (DeepSurv), RSF, and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). In addition, the Cox proportional hazards (CPH) model was employed to enable robust prognosis prediction, while dataset augmentation techniques such as synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE)-based mixup, noise injection, and three-level augmentation were used to enhance model generalisability. The performance was evaluated using several ML models, including random forest (RF), k-nearest neighbours (KNN), gradient boosting machine (GBM), XGBoost, decision trees (DT), and logistic regression (LR). Comparative analysis with existing studies demonstrated the superior accuracy and detection capability of the proposed approach. The findings confirm the significant potential of ML techniques in improving HF patient management and predicting long-term clinical outcomes.

Keywords

Heart failure diagnosis, Machine learning, Survival analysis, Random survival forest, LightGBM, Clinical prognosis.

Cite this article

Aabdalla IDS, Vasumathi D. An integrated machine learning and survival analysis framework for heart failure classification and prognosis. International Journal of Advanced Technology and Engineering Exploration. 2026;13(139):968-987. DOI : 10.19101/IJATEE.2024.111101839

References
[1]
Seringa J, Abreu J, Magalhaes T. Machine learning methods, applications and economic analysis to predict heart failure hospitalisation risk: a scoping review protocol. BMJ Open. 2024; 14(4):1-3.
[2]
Shahim B, Kapelios CJ, Savarese G, Lund LH. Global public health burden of heart failure: an updated review. Cardiac Failure Review. 2023; 9:1-8.
[3]
Park J, Hwang IC, Yoon YE, Park JB, Park JH, Cho GY. Predicting long-term mortality in patients with acute heart failure by using machine learning. Journal of Cardiac Failure. 2022; 28(7):1078-87.
[4]
Jia L. Machine learning and statistical methods for predicting survival of patients with heart failure. Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology. 2024; 92:369-75.
[5]
Lin YM, Shih JY, Lee WC, Wu JY, Chen ZC, Chang WT. Long-term prognostic value of global myocardial work in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction. Circulation Journal. 2026; 90(2):196-204.
[6]
Li XH, Yang XL, Dong BB, Liu Q. Predicting 28-day all-cause mortality in patients admitted to intensive care units with pre-existing chronic heart failure using the stress hyperglycemia ratio: a machine learning-driven retrospective cohort analysis. Cardiovascular Diabetology. 2025; 24(1):1-13.
[7]
Chitta S, Chandu S, Katha KC, Junapudi SS, Yata VK, Junapudi S. Clinical and demographic predictors of heart failure outcomes: a machine learning perspective. Eurasian Journal of Medicine and Oncology. 2025; 9(1):133-43.
[8]
Nasiruddin M, Dutta S, Sikder R, Islam MR, Mukaddim AA, Hider MA. Predicting heart failure survival with machine learning: assessing my risk. Journal of Computer Science and Technology Studies. 2024; 6(3):42-55.
[9]
Kaushal P, Singh S, Vir D. Heart-disease survival analysis using statistical and machine learning approaches: a comparison of techniques. In international conference on emerging trends in networks and computer communications (ETNCC) 2024 (pp. 1-9). IEEE.
[10]
Liu T, Krentz A, Lu L, Wang Y, Curcin V. Benchmarking survival machine learning models for 10-year cardiovascular disease risk prediction using large-scale electronic health records. Digital Health. 2026; 12:1-21.
[11]
Zhou C, Hou A, Dai P, Li A, Zhang Z, Mu Y, et al. Risk factor refinement and ensemble deep learning methods on prediction of heart failure using real healthcare records. Information Sciences. 2023; 637:1-15.
[12]
Newaz A, Ahmed N, Haq FS. Survival prediction of heart failure patients using machine learning techniques. Informatics in Medicine Unlocked. 2021; 26:100772.
[13]
Srujana B, Verma D, Naqvi S. Machine learning vs. survival analysis models: a study on right censored heart failure data. Communications in Statistics-Simulation and Computation. 2024; 53(4):1899-916.
[14]
Alqahtani NM, Algarni A. Survival analysis and machine learning models for predicting heart failure outcomes. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science & Applications. 2025; 16(5):365-75.
[15]
Setia B, Zaky U. Systematic optimization of ensemble learning for heart failure survival prediction using SHAP and optuna. Jurnal Teknik Informatika (Jutif). 2025; 6(5):5320-32.
[16]
Gungbias H, Kassem M. Death events from heart failure prediction using machine learning approach. International Journal. 2025; 11(1):1-10.
[17]
Ahmed M, Sulaiman MH, Hassan MM, Bhuiyan T. Predicting the classification of heart failure patients using optimized machine learning algorithms. IEEE Access. 2025; 13: 30555-69.
[18]
Kokori E, Patel R, Olatunji G, Ukoaka BM, Abraham IC, Ajekiigbe VO, et al. Machine learning in predicting heart failure survival: a review of current models and future prospects. Heart Failure Reviews. 2025; 30(2):431-42.
[19]
Jahangiri S, Abdollahi M, Rashedi E, Azadeh-fard N. A machine learning model to predict heart failure readmission: toward optimal feature set. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence. 2024; 7:1-14.
[20]
Mortazavi BJ, Downing NS, Bucholz EM, Dharmarajan K, Manhapra A, Li SX, et al. Analysis of machine learning techniques for heart failure readmissions. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. 2016; 9(6):629-40.
[21]
Moreno-sánchez PA. Improvement of a prediction model for heart failure survival through explainable artificial intelligence. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine. 2023; 10:1-17.
[22]
Luo H, Xiang C, Zeng L, Li S, Mei X, Xiong L, et al. SHAP based predictive modeling for 1 year all-cause readmission risk in elderly heart failure patients: feature selection and model interpretation. Scientific Reports. 2024; 14(1):1-15.
[23]
Van NM, Bosschieter T, Din N, Ambrosy A, Sandhu A, Udell M. Interpretable survival analysis for heart failure risk prediction. In machine learning for health (ML4H) 2023 (pp. 574-93). PMLR.
[24]
Fu S, Zhao Z, Liu X, Guo J, Wang K, Zhao Y, et al. Machine learning-based prediction of three-year mortality in elderly inpatients with coronary artery disease combined with heart failure. International Journal of Medical Informatics. 2026; 210:1-12.
[25]
Tian P, Liang L, Zhao X, Huang B, Feng J, Huang L, et al. Machine learning for mortality prediction in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2023; 12(12):1-38.
[26]
Rizinde T, Ngaruye I, Cahill ND. Machine learning algorithms for predicting hospital readmission and mortality rates in patients with heart failure. African Journal of Applied Research. 2024; 10(1):316-38.
[27]
Aabdalla ID, Vasumathi D. A comprehensive systematic review for cardiovascular disease using machine learning techniques. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Applications. 2024; 15(1):1-23.
[28]
Raj S, Vani R, Raja B, Harsha T, Drakshayani T, Charith R. Heart disease detection using XGB-classifier and failure prediction using gradient boosting. Journal of Nonlinear Analysis and Optimization. 2024; 15:1459-65.
[29]
Suliman ID, Vasumathi D. Prediction of heart disease using machine learning algorithms. In 14th international conference on computing communication and networking technologies (ICCCNT) 2023 (pp. 1-12). IEEE.
[30]
Jain A, Yanadaiah P. Explainable AI in heart failure: risk stratification and survival analytics with machine learning. In international conference on knowledge engineering and communication systems (ICKECS) 2025 (pp. 1-7). IEEE.
[31]
Guo S, Zhang H, Gao Y, Wang H, Xu L, Gao Z, et al. Survival prediction of heart failure patients using motion-based analysis method. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine. 2023; 236:1-14.
[32]
Chen S, Ishida T. Enhancing interpretability of survival models with high predictive performance: integrating cox proportional hazards with machine learning methods. IEEE Access. 2026; 14:25871-89.
[33]
Chen GH. An introduction to deep survival analysis models for predicting time-to-event outcomes. Foundations and Trends in Machine Learning. 2024; 17(6):921-1100.
[34]
Fisher E. Prognostic model to predict mortality in obese heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Journal of Cardiac Failure. 2026; 32(1):203.
[35]
Skoularigkis S, Kourek C, Xanthopoulos A, Briasoulis A, Androutsopoulou V, Magouliotis D, et al. Prognostic models in heart failure: hope or hype?. Journal of Personalized Medicine. 2025; 15(8):1-21.