for an app that could detect irregular heart rhythms. The Apple Watch was now officially a medical device and was allowed to tell people that they might have a medical problem.
Five or six years ago, cardiologists started to see a trickle of patients bring in heart rate data from smartwatches. But a few months after the FDA cleared the Apple Watch’s app in 2018, things changed. “People were watching ads and hearing Tim Cook say that it’s a lifesaving device. So we started getting a lot more of those patients,” says Mohamed Elshazly, a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. “We have definitely seen an uptick in the last two to three years.
“It’s an invasive procedure and quite a bit more expensive than an Apple Watch,” says Byron Allen, a cardiologist and clinical professor at the University of California at Irvine. Wearable devices like the Apple Watch and Fitbits, which also have an electrocardiogram feature, make it easier for doctors to monitor patients at home. “They also let patients be more engaged in their own care,” he says.
Most of the time, when the devices do come up, Joy usually uses it as an opening to talk about a range of topics: the amount of activity they do each day, any strength training they might want to incorporate into their routine, and so on. They can be helpful for people to keep tabs on the amount they’re moving around, even though they might not play a big role in someone’s nutrition or exercise programs.
“We talk about how to avoid tracking, because it’s not healthy for them. We want them to be more mindful.”
I’ve haven’t ever shown it to my cardiologist, he would have heart attack if he knew.
Best tech in a long time for me maybe since the mobile phone.
First step to a Technocratic bio security state. Wearables - implants. And if you think it’s not coming you’re either complicit or stupid. Suggest you stick your wearables where the sun don’t shine.