Back in 2017, Apple worked with researchers from Stanford University and introduced an “Apple Heart Study” app to determine if can discover atrial fibrillation while making use of the data from the heart rate pulse sensor of Apple Watch. This study has now proven Apple Watch can detect and will notify users when they have irregular heart patterns.
From the study conducted, 84% of participants who received irregular pulse notifications with were actually experiencing atrial fibrillation at that time proving the accuracy of the Apple Watch to some extent. Another 34% who followed up with an ECG patch one week later had atrial fibrillation as well, a deadly condition which leads to strokes.
Atrial fibrillation is often undiagnosed because a lot of people do not experience any symptoms. The study further showed only 0.5 per cent participants got irregular pulse notifications, an important finding given the concerns about the app sending too many notifications.
Speaking on the study, Lloyd Minor of the Stanford School of Medicine said: “The results of the Apple Heart Study highlight the role that innovative digital technology can play in creating more predictive and preventive health care.”
He further stated, “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 — a key goal of precision health.”
Associate Professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford, Marco Perez noted: “The performance and accuracy we observed in this study provides important information as we seek to understand the potential impact of wearable technology on the health system.”
The pulse algorithm was found to have a 71 per cent accuracy as a result of the comparisons between irregular pulse-detection on Apple Watch and simultaneous electrocardiography patch recordings.
