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A large study suggests that the Apple Watch can detect an alarming irregular heartbeat – but experts say more work is needed to determine if using wearable technology for screening for heart problems actually helps.
More than 419,000 Apple Watch users have subscribed to this study, funded by Apple and the largest to date, aims to screen for atrial fibrillation (A-fib) in apparently healthy people.
Researchers at Stanford University reported Saturday that the watch had warned only 0.5% of participants – about 2,100 – that they might have a problem.
Even among the people reported, the diagnosis of the watch was "not perfect," said Dr. Richard Kovacs of the American College of Cardiology, who did not participate in the study.
The people who received an alert were supposed to consult a doctor of the study via telemedicine, and then wear an ECG patch measuring cardiac activity for the following week. Some skipped the virtual audit to consult their own doctors. Overall, about 57% sought medical attention.
Among those who benefited from ECG monitoring as part of the study, a third was suffering from atrial fibrillation, according to preliminary results presented at a conference of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.
A-fib tends to come and go, and a week of surveillance may have eluded some cases, said Dr. Mintu Turakhia, senior researcher at Stanford. But if the watch detected another irregular heartbeat while someone was wearing the EKG patch, it was really at 84%, he said.
"This study, in our opinion, provides very encouraging evidence that a device, the Apple Watch, can be used to detect a virus and tell people when additional control or testing is needed Said Dr. Lloyd Minor, Dean of Medicine at Stanford. .
According to other experts in cardiology, the study suggests that screening with a portable technology may be technically possible eventually, but requires much more research.
"I would not advise this to the entire population," said Dr. Valentin Fuster, director of Mount Sinai Heart in New York and former president of the American Heart Association, who said not participated in the study.
Instead, he said, he would like the test to be tested in older people with risk factors such as high blood pressure.
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