Believe it or not, a good smartwatch could be your best friend when it comes to preventing heart disease. A recent study shows evidence that the electrocardiogram (ECG) function that some of these devices integrate could help detect and predict a wide range of heart problemseven a decade in advance.
University College London conducted this study, examining 83,000 people with ages between 50 and 70 years. The sample population, who were in good health, underwent a 15-second ECG “similar to what is done with smartwatches and smart mobile devices.”
As a result, 1 in 25 examinees returned an extra beat. This population presented a predisposition to develop heart failure or atrial fibrillation for the next 10 years.
How accurate are the ECG results obtained by a smartwatch? Well, although they cannot replace tests at the clinical level, they yielded an accuracy of between 93% and 95%. Thus, they become excellent tools to identify different heart conditions that could go unnoticed on a day-to-day basis.
Previous studies have yielded encouraging results for users of this type of smartwatches. One of the examples focuses on the analysis of ECG data obtained through the sensors of the Apple Watch. This information was examined by an artificial intelligence and could detect people with weak heart pump or left ventricular dysfunction.
A smartwatch could become the best ally of the elderly
The results obtained by both the University College London study and earlier organizations are convincing enough. Although tests ECGs performed in medical facilities provide a clearly superior result, smartwatches offer a convenient alternative. This can facilitate access to early warnings that motivate people to visit their GP. This way, a proper diagnosis can be obtained and treatment for the possible condition discussed.
Nevertheless, smartwatches still need to be studied in more depth. Other studies show that the light sensors of the Apple Watch lose reliability with dark-skinned and obese people, a detail that, if not solved, would cause this group of people to lose the benefits of the aforementioned technology. .
smartwatches they are not so recommended in patients with electronic implants. This section includes pacemakers or cardiac resynchronization devices. The latter could be affected by the electronic bioimpedance technology used by wearables. An example is the case of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.