As part of Apple’s mission to become a watchdog of your health, the company’s smartwatch with an electrocardiogram is already preventing cardiac arrests and saving lives.
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Back in September, the product was made available for purchase, and it had numerous enhancements over its predecessor. The new ECG sensor, which was successfully made available to people living in the United States on December 6th, was possibly the feature that generated the greatest buzz. It is possible to produce a pulse waveform that is comparable to that produced by single-lead electrocardiograms used in clinical settings. If your heart rhythm shows signs of atrial fibrillation, which means there is a problem, or sinus rhythm, which means it is beating normally, you can use this information to figure out if there is a problem or not.
The electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor, as Apple has been eager to point out, “is designed for informative purposes only.” Abnormal heart rhythms can be treated, but the symptoms are often missed because so many individuals don’t experience them. The challenge lies in recognizing there is a problem in a timely manner. The Cupertino company is hoping that customers who are unaware that they have the illness will find its Series 4 watch to be especially helpful. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the illness affects between 2.7 and 6.1 million people in the United States.
After only a few days since its release, there are already reports suggesting the wearable device may have prevented the loss of at least one life. According to ABC News, Ed Dentel, 46, a resident of Richmond, Virginia, activated the feature over the weekend, and the device instantly warned him that it may have noticed atrial fibrillation in his cardiac rhythm. Dentel lives in Richmond, Virginia.
“The app on the debut went up straight away with atrial fibrillation,” said Dental in an interview with ABC News. “Not something I’ve ever heard of,” Dental said, “but since I’m in pretty great health and have never had a problem before, I didn’t give it much attention.”
I had a feeling that something was off, so I put an end to everything and went to bed for the night.
The following day, he was provided with one more notification. After trying to figure out what was wrong, he finally decided to restart the gadget, but it had no effect. It kept warning him. After that, he gave the watch to his wife to wear, but she didn’t do anything special with it.
“I thought to myself, ‘This is ridiculous. I’ve got meetings and I’ve got work to do. He continues by saying, “I don’t have a chance to pause here and wait.”
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“But I looked down at the watch, and after checking it one more time, it said ‘AFib.’”
After receiving a few cautions, Dentel made the decision to get himself looked out for. He went to his primary care physician, who eventually told him that the Apple Watch may have prevented him from passing away. Dentel was sent to a cardiologist, who checked him out and found that he had atrial fibrillation.
Some people have voiced worries that the electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor on the Series 4 wristwatch can produce false positives, which they believe would place a needless load on medical professionals. Even though it’s still very early on, it doesn’t appear that this will be the case so far.
The most frequent type of abnormal heartbeat is called atrial fibrillation (Afib for short). The atrium beats in an uneven and erratic pattern, which is a defining feature of the condition. Frequently, it begins with only a few brief moments of aberrant beating, which, over time, might become increasingly serious. If it is not addressed, there is a possibility that it could lead to an increased risk of heart failure, dementia, and stroke.
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Don’t freak out if you discover that the watch is giving you notifications. The waveform of its electrocardiogram is not meant to take the place of more conventional means of diagnosis. Make sure to get the advice of a trained healthcare expert before attempting to interpret the device output or taking any clinical action depending on the outcomes it produces. As the story above shows, the Apple Watch could help prevent serious injuries or even deaths.
