Did you know that your smart watch could potentially save your life? A new study says that devices like smart watches might help spot signs of heart problems.
This means that wearable tech could help doctors find out if someone is likely to develop heart diseases in the future.
The research was done by scientists at UCL and published in the European Heart Journal—Digital Health.
They studied data from 83,000 people who had taken a quick heart test called an electrocardiogram (ECG). This is similar to the test you can do using smart watches or phone devices.
What they found was interesting. The scientists found out that some of the heart tests had extra heartbeats.
These extra heartbeats can be harmless but, if there are a lot of them, they can be signs of heart failure or arrhythmia. Arrhythmia means the heartbeats are not regular.
The people who had an extra beat during the quick test were twice as likely to develop heart failure or a condition called atrial fibrillation in the next 10 years. Atrial fibrillation is a fancy name for an irregular and often very fast heart rate.
The People Involved
The people whose ECG recordings were studied were aged between 50 to 70. They did not have any known heart disease at the time of the test.
What the Experts Say
The lead author of the study, Dr. Michele Orini, says that ECGs from devices like smart watches might help detect and prevent heart disease in the future.
He believes that they should test these findings again. If they hold up, it would be great to see how this kind of screening could work in real life.
Professor Pier D. Lambiase, who also worked on the study, says that finding people who are at risk of heart failure and arrhythmia early would be very helpful. We could give them advice about exercise and diet to prevent heart problems.
How It Works
An ECG test uses sensors on the skin to pick up the electric signals that your heart makes when it beats. In hospitals, doctors use about 10 sensors placed around the body for an ECG.
But wearable devices like smart watches use just one sensor. This makes them less accurate, but also easier to use.
For this study, the research team used machine learning, which is a type of computer science, to find the extra heartbeats.
These beats were classified into two types. Some came from the lower part of the heart and some came from the upper part.
The researchers then had two experts check that the extra heartbeats were classified correctly.
The Results
After taking into account things like age and medicine use, the researchers found that an extra beat from the lower part of the heart was linked to double the risk of heart failure later in life.
An extra beat from the upper part of the heart, on the other hand, was linked to double the risk of atrial fibrillation.
What Are These Heart Conditions?
Heart failure means the heart can’t pump blood properly. It can’t be cured, but its symptoms can be controlled for a long time.
Atrial fibrillation, on the other hand, happens when there are abnormal electrical impulses in the heart.
This leads to an irregular and often very fast heart rate. It can cause problems like dizziness, shortness of breath, and tiredness, and it can increase the risk of stroke by five times.
In short, our smartwatches and other wearable tech may soon be saving us from serious heart problems!
If you care about heart health, please read studies about drug that could help lower fatty liver risk and improve heart health, and the best blood sugar levels to prevent strokes and heart attacks.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about turmeric compound that could improve blood pressure, and results showing Vitamin C, but not vitamin E, linked to lower risk of heart failure.
The study was published in European Heart Journal—Digital Health.
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