Stroke Risk Could Be Flagged Early Using Apple Watch Technology, Studies Show

For millions of people at risk of stroke, a simple squeeze on the wrist could one day save lives. New studies from the University Medical Center in Amsterdam and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London have shown that wearable devices, such as the Apple Watchmay improve detection of atrial fibrillation compared to standard care. Atrial fibrillation, often called A-fib, is a cardiac arrhythmia, meaning an irregular or abnormal heart rhythm. This condition can cause blood clots and is a leading cause of stroke.

The Amsterdam study enrolled 437 patients aged 65 or older at high risk of stroke and required 219 of them to wear an Apple Watch to track their heart rate 12 hours a day for 6 months. The remaining 218 patients did not wear watches and relied on standard care.

The experiment detected cardiac arrhythmias four times more frequently in patients wearing an Apple Watch than in those who did not. Specific versions of the Apple Watch use photoplethysmography, a heart rate-detecting LED light sensor, and have a built-in single-lead electrocardiogram sensor to read your heart rate.

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Wearable devices that track heart rate and other health markers are not new, and previous studies have shown promise in detecting A-fibrillation. Although wearable devices are known to track With this type of data, no previous research has examined how well it detects potential health risks related to A-fib.

“We found that after six months we diagnosed and treated 21 patients in the smartwatch group, 57% of whom were asymptomatic,” Michiel Winter, a cardiologist at UMC Amsterdam, said in a statement. “This was compared to just five diagnoses in the group receiving standard care, all of whom presented with symptoms.”

The second clinical study, conducted by Saint-Barthélemy Hospital, showed that the Apple Watch could also be beneficial for detecting fibrosis A symptoms earlier and for monitoring patients after standard treatment, such as catheter ablation. The hospital found that patients could record clinical-grade ECGs on their Apple Watches at home when they had symptoms. Similar to the first study, the hospital found that patients using an Apple Watch detected fibrosis A earlier and more frequently than those receiving standard care. Detecting symptoms earlier also reduces anxiety and the likelihood that a patient will need to be hospitalized.

The results of these studies show that wearable devices such as the Apple Watch could be used for long-term cardiac screening to detect cardiac health abnormalities and improve care for patients undergoing treatment. And it can help diagnose those who don’t know they have this condition.

“Using smartwatches with PPG and ECG functions helps doctors diagnose individuals who are unaware of their arrhythmia, thereby speeding up the diagnostic process,” Winter said.