Smartwatches equipped with both photoplethysmography (PPG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) functions enhance the detection of atrial fibrillation compared with standard care. Researchers at Amsterdam UMC analysed data from 437 patients and found that heart arrhythmias were identified four times more frequently among those wearing an Apple Watch. The findings are published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Atrial fibrillation is an arrhythmia strongly associated with stroke risk. Irregular trial contractions can lead to clot formation, and if these clots travel to the brain, they may cause a stroke.
Traditionally, monitoring is carried out using conventional ECG devices, but patients often find them uncomfortable, and most can only be worn for up to two weeks at a time.
Wearable devices that measure both pulse and the heart’s electrical activity by combining PPG and ECG technology have been available for some time. However, their effectiveness for screening patients at increased risk of atrial fibrillation had not previously been evaluated in a real-world setting.
The study provided 219 patients aged over 65 and at elevated stroke risk with an Apple Watch, while 218 patients received standard care. Participants were monitored for six months, with smartwatch users wearing the device for 12 hours daily.
After six months, clinicians diagnosed and treated 21 patients in the smartwatch group, 57% of whom were asymptomatic. In contrast, only five patients in the standard care group were diagnosed, all of whom experienced symptoms.
The results were also presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual symposium in London and provide strong evidence that wearable devices are suitable for long-term screening and significantly improve arrhythmia detection rates.
Using smartwatches with combined PPG and ECG functions helps clinicians identify individuals who are unaware they have an arrhythmia, thereby speeding up diagnosis. These findings suggest this approach could reduce stroke risk, benefiting both patients and the healthcare system by lowering costs. These savings would offset the initial cost of the device.
Source: Amsterdam University Medical Center
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