According to a study, the Apple Watch app could save your life by detecting irregular heartbeats

New findings from the study funded by Apple, which have not been published or peer reviewed, were presented Saturday at the American College of Cardiology's scientific session in New Orleans .

"The results of the study could help patients and clinicians understand how devices such as the Apple Watch can play a role in detecting conditions such as atrial fibrillation," he said. Dr. Mintu Turakhia, co-principal investigator and badociate professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford Medical. School, said in a statement.

Participants had both an iPhone and an Apple Watch, although not the most recent version, which incorporates integrated electrocardiography (ECG) because it was published after the launch of the study.

From time to time, a special application checked if the pulse was irregular in each participant's heart rate sensor. When he detected it, he received a notification and he was asked to schedule a telemedicine consultation with a doctor of the study. Then, participants would receive ambulatory ECG patches (walking) to record the rhythm of their heart for up to a week.

The researchers explained that the results suggest that wearable technologies could help detect conditions before they are triggered.

Overall, only 0.5% of participants received irregular pulse notifications indicating a possible AFib. Researchers say this is important given concerns about possible over-reporting – a kind of false positive. And about one-third (34%) of the participants who received irregular pulse notifications and undergoing follow-up had atrial fibrillation.

Comparing the irregular pulse detection on Apple Watch with the long-running ECG patch recordings, the Apple Watch pulse detection algorithm showed a positive predictive value of 71%; in other words, only 29% of the informed participants had received a false positive.

Finally, the study showed that 57% of those who had received irregular pulse notifications had consulted a doctor.

What these preliminary results can tell us

"I think this could represent a turning point in how we think about wearables," said Patel, who did not participate in the new research. "Many wearable devices attempt to track many different behaviors and biometrics, and very few of them are currently being tested as part of large-scale, well-designed clinical trials.

"Many people are excited about the number of 400,000" participants, he said, and while it's impressive, he noted that only 0.5% had AFib. A study targeting high-risk populations – for example, people with heart failure over 65 – could help reduce the rate of false positives, he said.

"You may be thinking", it's amazing that nearly half of the people identified as having AFib have not sought medical attention, but "it's actually not," said Patel.

"What we found is that on average, incentive program participants have traveled about 100 km longer than laptop users," said Patel, noting that "it's a good idea," he said. a single laptop did not lead to any increase in physical activity. "

"So, 100 miles of physical activity over a six-month period was huge," he said. "And it was a high-risk population: people over 65 who had had a heart attack or stroke."

The average cost for people benefiting from the financial incentive program was only $ 104 per person. In addition, when the incentive was turned off, "they kept walking at the same rate," he said. "They really built habits."

Portable devices and technologies need to be badociated with well-designed behavior change strategies "to alter clinical care, behavior and decision-making," said Patel.

"It's a really exciting time," he said. "But we have to be careful, we need to do well-designed studies like this, we need to understand what the results are, and we need to be able to continue to evolve and learn as we progress."