***As a Baptist Health South Florida Partner, I love sharing content with you! As always, all opinions are my own.
Technology is a pretty incredible thing! Over the past twenty plus years, technology has changed the landscape of almost every industry at such a rapid pace that I cannot even imagine how I will keep up over the next decade. I also picture a future where CJ rolls his eyes and laughs at me because I have no clue what I am doing with his favorite gizmo or gadget. When I was in 5th grade happily purchasing an ox on the Oregon Trail, I could not imagine that I would have a mini, powerful computer attached at my palm at all times.
How much has technology changed your life? For me, technology has enabled me to have a career from anywhere and to connect with clients around the world. It has enabled me to stay connected to friends that I would have lost to time and distance and it allows me to see my family on a screen, in real-time! We may not have flying cars yet, but we are totally living in the age of the Jetsons! As far as health and wellness goes, almost everyone I know has a fitness tracker and whether it may be a Fitbit, an Apple Watch or some other form of a tracking device, they are helping us hit our health and wellness goals on a regular basis! They help us hit our steps, track our distance that we swim, bike or jog and give an estimate of how many calories we burn during a sweat session, but how accurate are they?
Recently, Apple announced that the new Apple watch will essentially have an EKG function which has sparked a new debate about the accuracy of the technology. An EKG or electrocardiogram generally records the electrical activity of your heart through electrode patches placed on the skin of your arms, legs, and chest. According to this article from Baptist Health South Florida, The EKG can help your doctor check your heart rhythm for abnormalities (arrhythmias), or determine if you have poor blood flow to your heart muscle (ischemia), or even diagnose a heart attack.
(Watch now. The Baptist Health News Team hears from Ian Del Conde, M.D., Vascular Medicine Program Director at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, about the new Apple Watch’s EKG functionality. Video by Alcyene Almeida Rodrigues)
With the announcement, cardiologists are concerned that heart rhythm devices will be both over and underdiagnosed and are urging consumers to exercise caution because there haven’t been any studies conducted to determine the Apple Watches effectiveness in diagnosing heart irregularities. As the article states, “The Apple Watch should not serve as a means of detecting potentially serious or fatal arrhythmias,” says Ian Del Conde, M.D., Vascular Medicine Program Director at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute. “People still have to be cognizant that they first have to see their physician, get all of the appropriate tests and then get the appropriate wearable device.”
With that said, the FDA worked closely with Apple to develop and test the heart-rate monitoring Apple Watch. It has to be said that even though Apple announced that it received clearance from the FDA for its Apple Watch to be used as a medical device. it has not undergone studies within the medical community to determine if the watch monitors heart rhythms properly and consistently over a period of time, and no medical peer group or association has yet to endorse the product.
So, if you are considering purchasing a new Apple Watch, make sure to take into consideration this piece of advice from Dr. Del Conde: “To get a better understanding of the value of the Apple Watch, in terms of arrhythmia monitoring, studies are needed to demonstrate that it is effective and make sure that it doesn’t overdo or underdo signs of arrhythmias,” says Dr. Del Conde. “You don’t want to be a patient with an arrhythmia that goes undetected by the watch. And you don’t want to be a patient whose watch is telling you that you have arrhythmia and you quickly go to the emergency room to find out that it’s a false alarm.”
However, the USPSTF and this article from Baptist Health South Florida stresses that an individual should consult with their doctor regarding any questions about the EKG or risk factors for heart disease, which can include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, prediabetes or diabetes, smoking, being overweight or obese, or having a family history of early-onset heart disease. For more on this topic and many more, make sure to head on over to Baptist Health South Florida’s website today!
