Big Data for cardiology: novel discovery?

AIM: Big Data promises to change cardiology through a massive increase in the data gathered and analysed; but its impact goes beyond improving incrementally existing methods. METHODS AND RESULTS: The potential of comprehensive data sets for scientific discovery is examined, and its impact on the scientific method generally and cardiology in particular is posited, together with likely consequences for research and practice. CONCLUSION: Big Data in cardiology changes how new insights are being discovered. For it to flourish, significant modifications in the methods, structures, and institutions of the profession are necessary.