When Apple announced AFib History as part of WatchOS 9, it sounded like some kind of useful feature, but it’s not very relevant to most people. But, to put it mildly, the announcement is something that I think will be absolutely huge, since the watch got the opportunity to discover more health conditions.
The watch will play a big role in helping you and your healthcare professionals identify the role that lifestyle factors may play in your health …
Background
The discovery of atrial fibrillation (AFIB) came with Apple Watch with the launch of the 4 Series. Apple received FDA approval for this function after a study that showed that it is 98% accurate.
Since then, there have been many reports in which the AFib detection function has been attributed to saving lives. Here are just a few examples:
“Afib cargo”
When doctors evaluate AFib, it is not only important that it happened: It is also important to understand how much time the patient’s heart spends in the AFib condition, because it can significantly affect the level of health risk. The percentage of time someone spends in AFib is known as “AFib load”.
Over the last decade, the term “burden” has often been found in manuscripts that speak of atrial fibrillation (AF). Electrophysiologists have used it to generally denote the percentage of time a patient is in AF - calculated from the total time in AF divided by the total follow-up time.
Conceptually, this burden may be related to some clinical outcome and / or therapeutic decision. For example, the TRENDS study examined whether there is a critical level of AT / AF load that increases the risk of thromboembolic events independently of other known risk factors.
The researchers found that the risk of thromboembolism doubled if the AT / AF load was ≥ 5.5 hours each day for the previous 30 days.
Normally, the AFib load can only be measured during (usually a short) time while the patient is being followed in the hospital.
AFib History
That’s why the AFib History feature introduced in watchOS9 is so important: it can measure AFib load over a long period of time. Here’s how Apple describes it:
Research suggests that the amount of time spent in AFib can affect a person’s symptoms, overall quality of life and risk of complications. Previously, there was no easy way to monitor the incidence of AFib over an extended period of time or to manage lifestyle factors that may affect one’s condition. According to the American Heart Association, tackling changing lifestyle factors can reduce the amount of time spent at AFib.
With watchOS 9, users diagnosed with AFib can include an FDA-approved AFib history feature and access important information, including assessing how often the user’s heart rate shows signs of AFib.
Linking health conditions with lifestyle factors
But AFib’s history goes beyond just passively measuring time spent at AFib: it also links this to other data on health and lifestyle. Again, Apple:
According to the American Heart Association, tackling changing lifestyle factors can reduce the amount of time spent at AFib.
With watchOS 9, users diagnosed with AFib can include an FDA-approved AFib history feature and access important information, including assessing how often a user’s heart rate shows signs of AFib, providing a deeper insight into their condition. Users will also receive weekly notifications to understand the frequency and review the detailed history in the Health app, including lifestyle factors that may affect AFib, such as sleep, alcohol consumption and exercise.
Users can download a PDF with a detailed history of their AFib and lifestyle factors, which can be easily shared with physicians and caregivers for a more informed conversation.
In other words, Apple Watch can now provide doctors with data to assess whether there is any correlation between AFib load and lifestyle factors, such as how much you slept the night before and how much you exercise. Although correlation does not always imply causality, this type of data can be very useful in assessing risk factors.
Type 2 diabetes can be the following
Currently, this ability to link health conditions and lifestyle factors is limited to AFib. But as Apple Watch gets the opportunity to discover more conditions, it is an ability that can revolutionize healthcare.
One obvious example is type 2 diabetes. There have been numerous reports that Apple is working to add non-invasive blood sugar monitoring to future Apple Watch models, with the nature last year’s section describing one potential technology a company could use to achieve this.
This paper reports on a highly sensitive, non-invasive sensor for real-time glucose monitoring from interstitial fluid. The structure consists of a chipless sensor that can be pasted over the patient’s skin and a reader that can be built into a smartwatch.
The tag sensor is powered via an established electromagnetic coupling between the tag and the reader and its frequency response is reflected in the same way on the spectrum of the reader. The tag sensor consumes zero energy because there is no need for an active circuit to read or communicate on the tag side.
Link this to things like diet diary apps and metabolic testing, all of which are included in the Apple Health app, and it’s not hard to see how transformative a role can be played in a whole range of medical conditions.
With many more conditions probably later
Apple Watch started with a simple heart rate sensor, and that was enough to later lead to an FDA-approved ECG, AFib detection and - in Apple Watch Series 6 - oxygen saturation.
A study conducted last year showed that this is a reliable form of measurement for patients with lung diseases.
New study published on scientific report, an online multidisciplinary open access magazine publisher the natureshows that Apple Watch Series 6 is “a reliable way to get heart rate and oxygen saturation (SpO2) in patients with controlled lung disease.”
Study from University of Sao Paulo, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in Brazil, and was conducted with 100 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial lung disease from an outpatient pneumological clinic. He collected SpO2 and pulse data using the Apple Watch Series 6 and compared them to two commercial pulse oximeters.
The study noted strong positive correlations between Apple Watch devices and commercial oximeters. He notes that “there was no statistical difference in the assessment of skin color, wrist circumference, wrist hair and enamel nails to measure SpO2 and audible frequency in Apple Watch or commercial oximeters.”
Imagine being able to connect O2 watches with things like number of steps taken, steps taken, amount and quality of sleep and so on.
All this is possible with just one sensor. When we anticipate adding more sensors to future models, the potential of Apple Watch to help with a whole range of health conditions is huge!
What may have sounded like one of the least exciting features of Apple Watch will, I think, eventually become one of the most exciting and life-changing ones.
Photo: National Cancer Institute / Unsplash
FTC: We use car partnerships to make money. More.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more news on Apple: