Researchers delve into unexplored territories of cardiovascular wellness with the Apple Watch
In the realm of heart health research, Apple Watch is proving to be a valuable tool for medical professionals around the globe.
In Melbourne, Australia, Dr. Rachel Conyers and Dr. Claudia Toro, senior pediatric oncologists at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, are delving into the impact of cancer treatment on heart rhythm. Simultaneously, Dr. Sebastiaan Blok and his colleagues at Amsterdam University Medical Centers are exploring ways to detect atrial fibrillation (AFib) earlier using Apple Watch as part of a larger initiative called HartWacht.
Meanwhile, in the United States, Dr. So-Min Cheong, an associate professor at Texas A&M University, will study the personal impact of wildfire smoke on cardiac health in firefighters using Apple Watch. Up to 200 firefighters in Texas and California will join this study led by Dr. Cheong, Dr. Brian Kim, and Dr. Marco Perez at Stanford Medicine, starting next month.
The researchers plan to enroll more than 300 patients over the age of 65 who meet a risk threshold for AFib, with half of the participants wearing Apple Watch for at least 12 hours per day. Participants will take an ECG once every three weeks, or if they begin feeling symptoms, and will share results if they receive an irregular rhythm notification.
Dr. Conyers and her team will research the sensitivity of the Apple Watch ECG app in 40 children and adolescent patients in the coming months. They hope to use Apple Watch to monitor patients from home, identify possible opportunities to use the ECG app to monitor patients with certain medications that can alter a heart rhythm, and monitor heart failure patients from home.
The study marks the beginning of what they hope to understand using Apple Watch in the detection and monitoring of heart conditions. It's worth noting that the ECG app is cleared for use in adult patients, but pediatric use is limited to investigational use only.
Apple has launched the Investigator Support Program to provide researchers with Apple Watch devices for health research, including heart studies. The average healthy adult heart beats more than 100,000 times in a day, and Apple Watch has heart health features including high and low heart notifications, Cardio Fitness, irregular rhythm notifications, ECG app, and AFib History.
In a remarkable finding, within three weeks of the study, researchers were able to identify a participant with AFib in the intervention group who wasn't experiencing any symptoms. This underscores the potential of Apple Watch in early detection of heart conditions.
The researchers are continuing to grow and innovate with new opportunities based on science and technology. As the study progresses, we can expect to learn more about the role of Apple Watch in heart health monitoring and detection.
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