Apple Watch detects irregular heart beat in large U.S. study
Apple Watch detects irregular heart beat in large U.S.
study
By Manas Mishra Saturday, 16 March 2019 14:00 GMT
March 16 (Reuters) - 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 irregular heart beat.
Patients with untreated AF are five times more likely to have a stroke.
Results of the largest AF screening and detection study,
involving over 400,000 Apple Watch users who were invited to participate, were
presented on Saturday at the American College of Cardiology meeting in New
Orleans.
Of the 400,000 participants, 0.5 percent, 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 percent 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 percent 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 U.S. 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 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.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra and Tamara Mathias in
Bengaluru; editing by Bill Berkrot)
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