#TECH: ECG feature now available on Apple Watch in Malaysia
USERS of Apple Watch Series 4, 5, and 6 in Malaysia are now able to take their electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement starting today by updating their iPhone and Apple Watch to iOS 14.6 and watchOS 7.5 respectively.
The ECG app and the irregular rhythm notification feature received regulatory approval from the Medical Device Authority (MDA) in Malaysia as Class B software medical devices.
The feature allows users to take an ECG right from their wrist, capturing heart rhythm the moment they want to know more about their heart health and share this critical information with their doctors.
An early warning system
If you’re still unsure about what this feature does, the ECG app and irregular rhythm notification feature help users identify signs of Atrial fibrillation (AFib), which is the most common form of irregular heart rhythm. When left untreated, AFib can lead to stroke, the second most common cause of death around the world.
“Apple Watch has helped so many people around the world, and we are humbled that it has become such an important part of our customers’ lives,” said Apple’s chief operating officer, Jeff Williams.
“With the release of these heart features, Apple Watch takes the next step in empowering people with more information about their health,” he said.
Meanwhile, Apple’s vice president of Health, Dr Sumbul Desai, MD, said “We are confident in the ability of these features to help users have more informed conversations with their physicians.
“With the ECG app and irregular rhythm notification feature, customers will be able to better understand aspects of their heart health in a more meaningful way,” she said.
“The ECG app on Apple Watch will certainly bring a new dimension to patient care as a very accessible initial indicator of heart health,” said National Heart Institute Kuala Lumpur’s cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Mohamed Ezani Taib.
“AFib cases account for approximately one-third of our 200,000 cases annually here at the National Heart Institute (IJN), of which 40 percent are undiagnosed. Therefore, having an early warning system will be of immense benefit that will enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat heart rhythm issues earlier and potentially reduce the risk of complications, such as stroke, in the longer term,” he said.
More information about heart
According to Dr Desai, the intended use of the ECG feature is really to provide users with more information so they can have a more informed conversation with their doctor.
“However, the feature is not designed to diagnose. Firstly, it’s designed to just be informational. Secondly,
Apple has put a lot of work into the validation and accuracy of our features. So we did a lot of work that is grounded in science to make sure that the results are accurate and classified accurately. We feel really proud of the work that we did to make sure that our users will have a good result that’s grounded in science,” she explained.
“The availability of the ECG feature is also an opportunity for users to learn more about heart health and understand what Atrial fibrillation is and how it can be really helpful to understand what is going on with your heart,” she added.
Dr Desai said when you do ECG in the traditional way, you put 12 leads on your chest and that measures a 12-lead ECG, and it gives a three-dimensional picture of your heart.
“However, we’re doing just a single lead of the ECG, not a three-dimensional view of your heart. So we’re able to pick up AFib because that’s one of the conditions that you can pick up with the single lead ECG,” she explained.
“However, there are certain conditions, like heart attacks that we cannot pick up with the ECG feature. Those can only be picked up with the 12-lead ECG. So the 12-lead ECG is the full picture of your heart which you go to their doctor’s office for and that is used for diagnosis. We’re providing a subset of that information, a single lead ECG, and that’s the reason we provide information around AFib and that is also why it is not a diagnostic tool,” she added.
Collaboration and studies
Apple worked with Stanford Medicine on the Apple Heart Study, the largest study ever of its kind, which enrolled over 400,000 participants from all 50 states in the US, in a span of only eight months.
Apple and Stanford created the study to evaluate Apple Watch’s irregular rhythm notification, which occasionally checks the heart’s rhythm in the background and sends a notification if an irregular heart rhythm appears to be suggestive of AFib.
As part of the study, if an irregular heart rhythm was identified, participants received a notification on their Apple Watch and iPhone, a telehealth consultation with a doctor and an electrocardiogram (ECG) patch for additional monitoring.
“We are proud to work with Stanford Medicine as they conduct this important research and look forward to learning more about the impact of Apple Watch alongside the medical community,” said Williams. “We hope consumers will continue to gain useful and actionable information about their heart health through Apple Watch,” he said.
The ability of the ECG app to accurately classify an ECG recording as AFib or sinus rhythm was validated in a clinical trial of around 600 participants. Rhythm classification from a standard 12-lead ECG by a cardiologist was compared to the rhythm classification of a simultaneously collected recording from the ECG app.
The study found the ECG app on Apple Watch demonstrated 99.3 percent specificity in classifying sinus rhythm and 98.5 per cent sensitivity in classifying AFib for the classifiable recordings.
In the study, 87.8 per cent of recordings could be classified by the ECG app.
Source: NST