The Apple Watch and Stanford Apple Watch has identified irregular heartbeats in more than 2,000 patients

Apple and the Stanford University School of Medicine issued press releases today, citing the results of the jointly announced Apple Heart study in November 2017. Stanford Medicine also presented its findings today at the 68th Annual Scientific Session and Exhibition Expo of the American College of Cardiology. Apple has fully funded the study.

The Apple Heart study, which did not include the Apple Watch Series 4 (with its built-in ECG feature), included 419,093 participants. According to Apple, people from all 50 US states have participated in the last eight months and, according to the university, about 0.5% of the participants, more than 2,000 people, have been warned of the irregular heart rate in the US. course of the study. The researchers felt that it was "an important finding considering concerns about possible excessive reporting," suggesting that the mere fact of participating in the Apple Heart study no Was not a burden for most people involved (or a useless distraction for their doctors). Many health experts are concerned that giving more data to consumers may not be a good thing and may be a constraint on health care systems.

In cases where users were receiving an irregular heartbeat notification, the doctors had told study participants that it was a digital consultation, as well as any other information. an electrocardiogram patch for further follow-up; their heart rate readings were recorded for up to one week, using the appropriate ECG patch in these cases.

Image: Apple

Stanford has more about how all this happened:

Comparisons between the irregular pulse detection on Apple Watch and the simultaneous electrocardiography (ECG) patch recordings showed that the pulse detection algorithm (indicating a positive tachogram reading) had a positive predictive value of 71% . In 84% of cases, participants receiving irregular pulse notifications had atrial fibrillation at the time of notification.

One-third (34%) of participants who received irregular pulse notifications and who followed the use of an ECG patch more than a week later developed atrial fibrillation. Since atrial fibrillation is an intermittent condition, it is not surprising that it is not detected during subsequent monitoring of the ECG patch.

Fifty-seven percent of people who received irregular pulse notifications consulted a doctor.

From the beginning, Stanford sees the Apple Heart study as a step forward in further research into the utility of consumer wearables to monitor our daily health and predict problems. "Atrial fibrillation is only the beginning, as this study opens the door to new research on wearable technologies and how they could be used to prevent diseases before they occur – a key objective of Precision Health, "said Dr. Lloyd Minor, Dean of Stanford. Medicine School.

We know that these devices (from Apple and many other companies) can and continue to save and improve lives, but solving undiagnosed health problems is not limited to monitoring essential fitness activities and whether your heart beats properly, tasks that fall to most users. wearables for consumption today. There is little room for inaccuracies if technical decision makers want to move to the next level. And again, this study only covered the Apple Watch up to Series 3. So it relied heavily on the optical heart rate sensor of the device. When you attach to a heart check at a medical center, you have more specialized equipment.

"The performance and accuracy we observed in this study provide important insights in trying to understand the potential impact of wearable technology on the healthcare system," said Dr. Marco Perez, badociate professor of cardiovascular medicine. . "Further research will help people make more informed decisions about health."

Even with its new Apple Watch Series 4, Apple has tried to clarify that the ECG function was not a medical diagnostic tool. If there are several consecutive abnormal readings, this will tell you. These devices can not self-diagnose your health or act on the information they reveal without consulting a real doctor. Smartwatches and fitness trackers can detect irregularities or sudden falls, but are not yet in a place where everyone should be able to rely on them to do so.