A new study advances the possibility that our Apple Watch detects heart failure before it shows symptoms through 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 possibility of perform an EKG 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 takes the first steps in the possibility that using that same tool, the single-lead electrocardiogram of our Apple Watch, heart failure can be detected and thus start early treatment, before it shows symptoms and there is already irreparable damage.
The study has been carried out using 125.000 electrocardiograms from the US population and from 11 other countries, and the results presented at the aforementioned conference are quite promising. How can heart failure be detected by a simple electrocardiogram? There is already an algorithm that allows you to use a twelve-lead electrocardiogram (the one your doctor does with conventional devices) for the diagnosis of this disease, so what they have done in this study is modify that algorithm and adapt it for use with a single-lead electrocardiogram (the one that makes you the Apple Watch). As we say, the results are very promising and would represent a great advance in the detection and treatment of this disease, which when it produces symptoms is already in an advanced stage, and whose early detection not only allows a more effective treatment but also prevents irreparable damage.
Many were those who questioned the medical usefulness of the Apple Watch and its electrocardiogram, but time has shown them that they were wrong, not only by studies that scientifically demonstrate the achievements of this tool that we carry on our wrist, but also with real cases that tell how the Apple smartwatch has helped them control their disease. And the best thing is that this has only just begun.