Deccan Chronicle

Apple Watch detects irregular heartbeat

57% who received an alert sought medical attention: Study

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Bengaluru, March 17: The Apple Watch was able to detect irregular heart pulse rates that could signal the need for further monitoring for a serious heart rhythm problem, according to data from a large study funded by Apple Inc, demonstrat­ing a potential future role for wearable consumer technology in healthcare.

Researcher­s hope the technology can assist in early detection of atrial fibrillati­on, the most common form of the irregular heartbeat. Patients with untreated AF are five times more likely to have a stroke.

Results of the largest AF screening and detection study, involving over 4,00,000 Apple Watch users who were invited to participat­e, were presented on Saturday at the American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans.

Of the 4,00,000 participan­ts, 0.5 per cent, or about 2,000 subjects, received notificati­ons of an irregular pulse. Those people were sent an ECG (electrocar­diography) patch to wear for subsequent detection of atrial fibrillati­on episodes.

A third of those whose watches detected an irregular pulse were confirmed to have atrial fibrillati­on using the ECG technology, researcher­s said.

Some 84 per cent of the irregular pulse notificati­ons were later confirmed to have been AF episodes,

data showed.

“The physician can use the informatio­n from the study, combine it with their assessment ... and then guide clinical decisions around what to do with an alert,” said Dr Marco Perez, one of the study’s lead investigat­ors from Stanford School of Medicine.

The study also found that 57 per cent of participan­ts who received an alert on their watch sought medical attention.

For Apple, the data provides firepower as it pushes into healthcare. Its new Series 4 Watch, which

became available only after the study began so was not used, has the ability to take an electrocar­diogram to detect heart problems and required clearance from the US Food and Drug Administra­tion.

Dr Deepak Bhatt, a cardiologi­st from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who was not involved in the trial, called it an important study as the use of this type of wearable technology is only going to become more prevalent.

“The study is an important first step in figuring

out how can we use these technologi­es in a way that’s evidence-based,” he said.

Researcher­s urged caution by doctors in using data from consumer devices when treating patients. But they also see great future potential for this type of technology.

“Atrial fibrillati­on is just the beginning, as this study opens the door to further research into wearable technologi­es and how they might be used to prevent disease before it strikes,” said Lloyd Minor, dean of Stanford School of Medicine.

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