Apple clearly warns that the Apple Watch explicitly cannot detect heart attacks. This message always appears when you use the integrated 1-channel ECG to check whether the heart is in sinus rhythm or if there are signs of atrial fibrillation. According to a research group at the Texas Heart Institute, however, the technology is perfectly suitable for detecting symptoms of a myocardial infarction – at least if you use the watch creatively.
EKG could make a diagnosis
Like the team around Emerson C. Perin writes in the journal of the institute, it is conceivable that the watch could “ultimately serve as a tool for self-examination” in the event of chest pain or other symptoms of a possible heart attack in order to receive professional help more quickly. However, the group still sees various limitations here and calls for more research. Diagnosing a heart attack is usually done using the gold standard in EKG, a 12-lead machine that places sensors at specific locations on the body. The Apple Watch, on the other hand, technically only has the 1-channel version, in which the circuit is closed with a finger on the digital crown.
In order for meaningful heart attack diagnostics to be possible, at least two more channels (leads) would have to be added, writes the team – but there are already initial studies on how this could be implemented. At first glance, they seem a bit improvised: The Apple Watch is removed from the arm and placed with its sensors on the underside on other parts of the body, including the lower stomach area, the left thigh or the left ankle. Depending on whether the left or right finger is used, channels I, II and III can also be recorded. The data obtained so far is encouraging, according to the researchers.
Does Apple want the feature?
However, it is still completely unclear whether Apple would implement such a methodology itself previously available heart health features to expand. It would need the approval of the respective local health authorities, and the risk of misdiagnosis is high. Furthermore, it might be difficult to explain to users the correct placement of the watch once it is off the wrist – where there is relatively little that can go wrong.
If the current standard for heart attack diagnosis is to be maintained, the two missing channels cannot be “added” using software. As a further variant, however, it would be conceivable to use machine learning to record other heart values that are recorded by the watch, such as the rhythm, as warning signals for a heart attack. Again, Apple would have to explicitly decide to go into this area.
(bsc)
