Apple Watch Becomes Important Tool in the Fight to Stop the Spread of COVID-19

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Suppose there is a consumer electronic device that can tell you if you have coronavirus and give you your results faster than a standard COVID test. Smartwatches like the Apple Watch, and those produced by Fitbit and Garmin, can tell someone if they have coronavirus before symptoms appear and even before swab tests come back positive, according to CBS News. This is important because a recent CDC test found that more than half of coronavirus cases are spread by asymptomatic people.

Smartwatches can determine if someone has COVID-19 faster than a standard nasal swab test

Reports explaining how smartwatches can play an important role in COVID-19 testing do not come from the tech companies that make these devices. These reports come from legitimate medical institutions such as Mount Sinai Health System in New York and Stanford University in California. The ease of use of a smartwatch to test for the coronavirus could play an important role in controlling the virus.

Mt. Sinai researchers discovered that the Apple Watch can detect subtle changes in a person’s heartbeat that indicate that person has coronavirus up to seven days before they feel sick or get a positive result from a standard COVID test. Researchers studied heart rate variability which is the time variation between each heartbeat. It can measure how well a person’s immune system is working. Rob Hirten, assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, said: “We already knew that markers of heart rate variability change as inflammation develops in the body, and COVID is an incredibly inflammatory event. It allows us to predict that people are infected before they know it. “

People with COVID-19 have lower heart rate variability, which means the time between their heartbeats barely changes. Keep in mind that increasing heart rate variability has nothing to do with an elevated heart rate. High heart rate variability is a sign of an active nervous system belonging to a person more resilient to stress. So even though a high heart rate is not good for a person’s health, high heart rate variability could be a good sign.

While running a test, 300 Mt. Sinai workers wore an Apple Watch for the five months between April 29 and September 29. Like Mt. Hirten of Sinai points out: “Right now we rely on people saying they are sick and not feeling well, but wearing an Apple Watch does not require any active user intervention and can identify people who might be asymptomatic. It is a way to improve the control of infectious diseases. “

Another study conducted by Stanford was based on the theory that 81% of those who tested positive for the coronavirus had changes in their resting heart rate up to nine and a half days before the first symptoms appeared. An extremely high heart rate was a sign that symptoms of COVID-19 had just started. Stanford researchers used the data from the smart watch to identify 67% of COVID-19 cases four to seven days before the first symptoms appeared. The team also created an alarm to notify users that their heart rate has been elevated for an extended period.

Michael Snyder, a professor at Stanford University, who led the study, said: “We have set the alarm with some sensitivity so that it goes off every two months or so. Regular fluctuations will not go off. the alarm – only significant and lasting changes will. ” Snyder also said that “it’s a big deal because it alerts people not to go out and meet people.” Snyder’s own alarm went off recently, forcing him to cancel an in-person meeting in case he was contagious. The Stanford study looked at 32 people who tested positive for the virus out of a total of 5,000 people who took part in the study.

Current coronavirus tests have drawbacks that using a smartwatch can solve. Snyder points out that “The problem is you can’t do it (standard COVID test) on people all the time, while these devices are measuring you 24/7. The smartwatch returns the data to you immediately, in real time, so that if you are lucky to retake your test in a few days. “Most smartwatches can measure the wearer’s heart rate, and the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer models can perform an electrocardiogram (ECG) that monitors the user’s heart rate.

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