- New research confirms that Apple Watch’s heart health features can help with clinical diagnoses
- The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, shows that wearing an Apple Watch can make it four times more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation
- How to set your Apple Watch to ensure it shows an irregular heartbeat
Regular readers will know that most smartwatches and many of the best fitness trackers now come with an EKG feature that can help diagnose heart health issues. Apple is leading the way in this area, with the best Apple Watches now able to flag not just irregular heart rhythms, but also signs of hypertension or high blood pressure.
Now, a recent study has confirmed that Apple Watches can indeed help diagnose atrial fibrillation, catch otherwise asymptomatic conditions before they strike, and perhaps even quadruple the number of diagnoses doctors might otherwise miss before it’s too late. The end result saves medical services money and time in treatment and can even be life-saving for patients.
The research
Researchers from the Amsterdam University Medical Center (UMC) studied 219 patients over the age of 65 and at “increased risk of stroke” with an Apple Watch, and 218 patients who received standard care. In the Apple Watch group, 21 patients were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and received care, and 57% of them showed no outward symptoms beyond what was on their watch.
Only five patients were diagnosed in the control group, all of whom were symptomatic. The watches brought together four times as many people who ended up being diagnosed with the heart disease.
Amsterdam UMC cardiologist Michael Winter argued for smartwatches to be used in medical settings, claiming that the savings in medical services would “offset the initial cost of the device”.
“Using smartwatches with PPG and EKG capabilities helps doctors diagnose people who are unaware of their arrhythmia, thereby speeding up the diagnostic process,” Winter said. “Our findings suggest a potential reduction in the risk of stroke, which benefits both patients and the healthcare system by reducing costs.”
How to turn on irregular heart rate notifications
Apple has released guidance on heart rate notifications, but here’s how to turn them on.
- Open Health app on your iPhone.
- Search for Heartand then press Irregular rhythm notifications.
- Follow the on-screen setup instructions.
- Turn on notifications by switching to the Apple Watch app My watch > Heart > Irregular rhythm
