Gadgetory

I'm at the UCSF Medical Center hooked up to a 12-lead EKG now I'm gonna compare the results of this test versus the one lead EKG on the Apple watch if I look at my apps now I'll notice that there's now an EKG app it's these squiggly lines over here and it's pretty simple to use I just put my finger on the digital crown and it starts taking the EKG counts down for about thirty seconds and it actually shows it live as it's happening so we see that you have these two narrow beats and it intermittently you have this wider early beat that that one right there that one right there so normal normal early normal normal early and that matches what we see on the EKG where you have normal normal early and wide so this would be really useful to screen for this or to to have the first understanding that you have these early beats it wouldn't tell us precisely where in the heart apart from the fact that it's coming from the lower chamber where is this 12 lead EKG that gives us essentially a fuller picture can tell us precisely where in the lower chamber that's coming from and am I going to die is something wrong with me you are not going to die these early beats are very common in some people they can lead to problems in the long term but let's take a look at how this actually works on the Apple watch an update to watch os gave users access to two fda-cleared features on the Apple watch an irregular heart rhythm notification and an EKG app exclusive to the series for both of which could warn users of potentially life-threatening heart conditions heart rate is not new to the Apple watch or wearables in general so the optical sensor on fitness trackers or smartwatches essentially uses changes in light that is reflected based on the Hulse when the heart beats and more blood is pumped into the vessels more light gets absorbed between beats when there's less blood more light gets reflected back into the receivers the Apple watch also uses this optical sensor to measure heart rhythm and alerts users when the pattern suggests atrial fibrillation a heart condition which can increase your risk of stroke and other serious heart complications so the heart rate is the frequency of the heartbeat over time but doesn't tell you anything about the pattern of those beats the rhythm has more to do with the relative spacing of those beats but to get a definitive diagnosis the doctor needs more information we would want to have an electrical confirmation of a diagnosis of HIV relation before we decide on acting on that and not base it in general on the pulse recording alone that's where the EKG comes in the EKG or electrocardiogram uses electrodes to measure the electrical activity that results from each expansion and contraction of the heart the Apple watch has one electrode on the back crystal and one electrode on the digital crown place your finger on the digital crown to close the circuit and stay still for 30 seconds to get a read so that's creating the same sort of connection between your left arm and your right arm but the results from the single lead EKG on the Apple watch which users can share as a PDF with their doctors gave dr. Marcus enough information to detect my early heartbeat and could help doctors reach a diagnosis sooner and so there's this hope that we might detect those people who did otherwise didn't know they had H or fibrillation and then treat them appropriately the flipside is that we recognize there's a risk of false positive results the Apple watch is the only direct to consumer device with a built-in EKG but there are other devices like the cardio band that let you take an EKG outside the doctor's office Apple watch competitors like Arman and Fitbit are also working to improve their heart rate monitoring as more tech companies focus on health care as a way to breathe new life into wearables I probably don't have afib but I would have never known about my early heartbeat without an EKG and now I might just have to pay another visit to dr. Marcus to get it checked out you you