A new study suggests the possibility that our Apple Watch detects heart failure before it shows symptoms thanks to a simple electrocardiogram performed with the Apple smartwatch.
The possibilities offered by the Apple Watch in terms of health continue to multiply. It first launched the abnormal rhythm detection function, then the ability to perform an ECG on the couch at home using your Apple Watch Series 4 (and later), and now a new study conducted by the Mayo Clinic and presented at the San Francisco conference of the Heart Rhythm Society is taking the first steps into the possibility that using this same tool, the single electrocardiogram bypass of our Apple Watch, heart failure can be detected and thus begin treatment early, before it shows symptoms and there is already irreparable damage.
The study was done using 125,000 electrocardiograms from the US population and 11 other countries, and the results presented at the aforementioned conference are quite promising. How to detect heart failure by a simple electrocardiogram? There’s already an algorithm that lets you use a twelve-lead electrocardiogram (the one your doctor does with conventional machines) for the diagnosis of this disease, so what they did in this study is modify this algorithm and adapt it for use with a single-lead electrocardiogram
Many questioned the medical utility of the Apple Watch and its electrocardiogram, but time has proven them wrong, not only in studies that scientifically demonstrate the achievements of this tool that we wear on our wrist, but also with real cases that tell how Apple’s smartwatch helped them control their disease. And the best thing is that it’s only just begun.
