Apple added ECG hardware to the watch in 2018
A doctor living in California says his Apple Watch helped him identify a heart condition that led to a life-saving bypass operation.
The physician in question is Dr. Donald W Milne, an anesthesiologist who works at Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, California.
He wrote to 9to5mac and Apple CEO Tim Cook to explain the story of how an Apple Watch effectively saved his life.
Milne was working on an elliptical trainer and noticed an unusual shortness of breath, and then saw an ST depression on reading the Clock Echogram app. This is an abnormal heart pattern, and the kind of thing that an echocardiogram sensor can detect, but an LED-based optical heart rate monitor can’t.
“I have the first generation of the Apple Watch to be able to do cardiac monitoring. I know that the primary intended use is to control atrial fibrillation. As a 66-year-old anesthesiologist, I wear my watch for many occasions, ”said Milne. “I had no history of heart disease prior to this incident.”
Apple added an electric heart rate sensor to the watch on its Series 4 hardware, released in 2018.
“An appointment with my primary care doctor had a normal resting ECG in his office. However, by showing the monitoring of ischemia, she agreed and referred me to a cardiologist at John Muir Concord Hospital, “says Milne.
“He also agreed with the assessment and upon angiography yesterday, the finding of critical diffuse coronary artery disease was found and I am now scheduled for a 5-vessel bypass and aortic valve replacement on July 13, 2020.”
It may not have the same level of ECG reading information as Dr. Milne, but it shows that there’s more to the Apple Watch hardware than just monitoring your heart rate during a run or exercise in the gym.
The primary health function of the Apple ECG app is to check for signs of atrial fibrillation, resulting in an abnormal or fast heart rate and increasing the risk of stroke and other heart related problems.
The Apple Watch has a single-wire ECG sensor, which measures the electrical signal at one point on the body, at the wrist.
A traditional 12-lead ECG uses 10 electrode pads throughout the body for a more accurate and detailed reading, but a study published in the Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal in 2019 suggests that a modern one-lead device is accurate enough to Reliably lift the fibrillating atrium.
Other wear devices with echocardiogram hardware include the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 and Withings Move ECG. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is also expected to have an ECG heart rate sensor.
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