A collaborative study between Apple and Stanford was published today at the Stanford Medicine journal. The goal was to see if the Apple Watch could detect atrial fibrillation, a possible indicator declining heart health. Furthermore, one of the objectives was to see if the Apple Watch works and whether or not it was safe.
Nearly half a million people participated in the study. About 2,000 people or .52 percent received notifications of irregular heart rhythm for 117 monitored days. ECG patches were sent to check for heart problems- among the 450 collected, around 34% showed atrial fibrillation in 35 percent of the group aged 65 and up. Moreover, 84% of the notifications were activated due to atrial fibrillation.
Ultimately, the results showed that the device could detect atrial fibrillation. Dr. Mintu Turakhia, co-author and Stanford cardiologist determined that the trial was a success, especially on the smartwatch’s capability and what the data could mean for doctors, insurers, patients and more.
