Scientists from Imperial College London have used 3D imagery in an unprecedented way: to get a full view of the human heart, and use it to predict heart disease before any symptoms appear.

Some 1,258 people volunteered to have their hearts charted by the mapping software, which uses MRI imagery to develop 3D computer models of each individual's heart. Then the researchers compared the maps to the hearts of people with known heart disease. By looking for similarities the doctors were able to pinpoint tell-tale signs of heart disease, even in people who had no known symptoms.

Changes in the heart's shape was one giveaway of future problems. Even in adults with no complaints, tiny increases in blood pressure already led to a thickening of the heart muscle that's known to potentially cause early death. By detecting these problems, doctors could not only individualize treatment, but use the information to help future patients with the first signs of high blood pressure.

"New 3D-imaging technology lets researchers look at the living heart in amazing detail," said the lead author for the study, Dr. Declan O'Regan in a press release. "The risk of high blood pressure is well known, but these scans show the earliest signs of damage to the heart may begin in completely healthy people. This suggests that any increase in our blood pressure may put greater strain on the heart."

In the U.K., where the research was performed, heart disease and related problems are responsible for one out of every eight deaths. But the problem is even more dire in the U.S., where 610,000 Americans die from these issues every year, or one full quarter of all U.S. deaths. Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the U.K and the U.S.

The maps of the human heart might be one of the first steps in future detection of the "silent killer." As yet, the technology cannot detect a total eclipse of the heart.

The researchers published their development in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.