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Last September, Apple announced the addition of new cardiac monitoring equipment to the Apple Watch Series 4, allowing the notebook to produce electrocardiogram (ECG) readings – with an ECG application approved by the FDA that would be published "later this year". Three months later, the ECG application is about to be released alongside watchOS 5.1.2, reports MacRumors, while Apple has started training employees on both the # 39, application and on customer requests.
According to the report, Apple trains retail sector employees to avoid over-selling ECG functionality – a milestone in the marketing of a health-related device. Specifically, a training document instructs employees to tell customers that the ECG application "should not be a diagnostic tool or a substitute for traditional diagnostic methods," and "should not be used to monitor or monitor 'state of the disease or to change medication without talking about it first'. to a doctor. "
While previous Apple watches were able to monitor the number of heartbeats per minute, ECG heart monitoring is more sophisticated and is generally used for clinical purposes. Using two electrodes that touch the skin, it measures the natural electricity that powers your heart, providing a graph of how your heart is beating.
Most hearts beat in the same way, which is called "normal sinus rhythm," represented by an acute peak preceded and followed by smaller waves, representing a coordinated pumping of blood into the heart chambers. If the peak or the waves do not go as expected, the heart may not work properly. If the watch finds an irregularity, it's time to follow up with a doctor to find out what's going on.
Apple's ECG application allows Apple Watch 4 users to take ECG readings in a simple way: one electrode is constantly on your wrist and a second is hidden in the Digital Crown. You load the ECG application, place your finger on the flat surface of the crown and let the watch take 30 seconds. The results are displayed on the screen to let you know if there is an irregularity and you can send the result of the ECG in PDF format to your doctor if you have any concerns. The results remain otherwise confidential and can be verified in the Health app of the connected iPhone.
Since most people will have no idea what is wrong by simply inspecting their sinus rhythm, the ECG application will attempt to automatically identify irregularities such as atrial fibrillation (AFib) – a common predecessor of heart attack or stroke. The filtering process is not perfect, but it can quickly warn that something is wrong, and possibly offer a monitoring option to those who have suffered intermittent heartbeat problems. That said, the FDA has warned users against false positives and false negatives and not to consider a watch as a complete substitute for medical grade multiple-lead ECGs read by clinicians.
Until now, users interested in self-management of ECG had to rely on accessories developed by AliveCor (also known as Kardia), which published a handheld ECG device at $ 99 for iOS and Android phones, as well as an Apple Watch group at $ 199. The Apple Watch Series 4 was the first end-to-end portable ECG solution to receive US FDA clearance, allowing it to be offered directly to US consumers. However, ECG functionality requires separate government permissions from other countries before it can be offered elsewhere. .
Apple's ECG application for Apple Watch Series 4 will be available for free download on the Watch application of the iPhone as part of watchOS 5.1.2 and, given the company's standard training schedule, should soon be available for US users. The ECG feature will not come on older Apple watches, but watchOS 5.1.2 will enable notifications of irregular heartbeats in Series 1 and newer models. The release dates of the ECG application in other countries are currently unknown.
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