Apple watches include electrical heart sensors that can detect serious issues with your heart
Many doctors across the US are recommending using Apple watches and other wearable devices as useful medical tools to help diagnose and manage certain conditions, including monitoring life-threatening and deadly heart diseases and post-surgery recovery.
How are Apple watches useful for heart patients?
Apple watches include electrical heart sensors that can detect serious issues with your heart. And so, the doctors believe the device could be a game-changer for patients.
The watch features two electrocardiograms or ECG – apps that can catch irregular heart rhythms that might not show up during a medical exam but can signal serious heart risks. It can also detect when the wearer has fallen and is immobile and can call for help. Experts feel it helps empower patients to get involved in their healthcare, apart from helping correctly signal problems.
Doctors say the diagnosis is not just made purely because your watch says something’s wrong, but it can be a helpful tool in assisting the process.
What are irregular heart rhythms?
An irregular heartbeat – also known as an arrhythmia or dysrhythmia, is a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heart. It can occur when the electrical signals that tell the heart to beat don’t work properly, causing the heart to beat too fast, too slow, or irregularly.
According to experts, while some types of arrhythmias are harmless and do not require treatment, others can put you at risk for cardiac arrest and need regular monitoring and treatment. Warning signs of arrhythmia may include:
- Heart palpitations
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Episodes of fainting
- Breathlessness
- Chest discomfort
- Weakness or fatigue
“We always want to get medical grade confirmation before we embark on any treatment. However, we understand that this is a pretty accurate tool for detecting abnormal rhythms, and certainly the EKG that’s done, when it’s interpreted by a skilled physician can be incredibly powerful,” Dr. Rod Passman, cardiologist and professor of medicine at Northwestern Medicine told CBS News.
Passman is also leading a study funded by the National Institute of Health that aims to understand whether people with abnormal rhythms of the heart can use such devices to personalize care.
“Instead of taking your blood thinner, for example, 12 months out of the year, perhaps the watch can help guide when you need to take the blood thinner so that you can receive the benefits of a medication while minimizing the risks,” he said.
However, many also caution regarding studying the long-term viability of these devices as to how accurate they are at detecting arrhythmias and the number of false positive and false negative results.
