Smartwatch EKG delivers critical heart data quickly

Tuesday, September 1, 2020 (HealthDay News)-Can a smartwatch app save a heart attack patient? It’s quite possible, according to Italian researchers.

They found that electrocardiographic (EKG) measurements from smartwatches were almost as accurate as the standard electrocardiogram of a suspected heart attack patient.

“A [standard] Electrocardiographs are not always readily available,” said research author Dr. Ciro Indolfi.[So] The ability to quickly and easily identify an ongoing heart attack using a simple smartphone is very helpful in reducing the adverse effects of a heart attack in certain situations. “

Indolfi is the Director of Cardiovascular Research at the University of Magna Graesia in Catanzaro, Italy.

EKG is a graphic representation of the electrical activity of the heart. Indolfi said these measurements were important in determining whether a patient with chest pain had a heart attack. You can also quickly identify a specific cause.

To see if the smartphone’s electrocardiogram really works, researchers have sought care for a potential heart attack in one clinic between April 2019 and January 2020. The patient’s EKG reliability was assessed. Two-thirds were men (average age: 61 years).

All received a standard “12-lead” ECG. It produces readings using 12 electrodes in different locations on the chest and extremities.

The patient also received an EKG using the Apple Watch Series 4. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the smartwatch’s built-in EKG tool as a reliable way to detect a serious heart rhythm abnormality called atrial fibrillation.

Instead of twelve electrode leads, smartwatches are equipped with sensors designed to form a single electrode lead. As a workaround, the researchers placed the clock in succession on nine spots on each patient’s body and generated multiple measurements. The measurements were then uploaded to Apple iPhone.

For comparison purposes, 19 unsuspecting men and women who had a heart attack also had the standard smartwatch EKG.

According to Indolfi, the clock-generated ECG was 94% accurate in correctly identifying and distinguishing different types of heart attacks. The watch also correctly stated that no more than 9 out of 10 healthy patients had no heart attack.

The clock does not generate diagnostics. EKG readings must be interpreted by a physician. However, findings suggest that “with the Apple Watch, it is possible to perform a 9-lead EKG with about the same reliability as a standard EKG.”

He added that it is important because the faster the post-heart attack treatment, the better the results. This is especially true among patients undergoing a very serious heart attack known as STEMI (ST segment elevation myocardial infarction).

Indolfi said such patients were successful at expanding the occluded artery after inserting a stent or balloon (coronary angioplasty). But the procedure is only “reducing mortality if done quickly”. That is, EKG is administered within 10 minutes and then treated within 2 hours.

Dr Greg Fonalow, director of the Los Angeles Cardiomyopathy Center at the University of Ammanson, Calif., welcomed the findings with careful optimism.

“This new feasibility study shows that smartwatches can be used to capture multiple ECG leads,” he said. [of] Agreement between smartwatch and standard measurements”.

Fonaro said more follow-up work would be needed to confirm the findings.

However, he says, the smartwatch’s electrocardiogram can ultimately prove very useful in speeding up diagnosis and treatment in time-critical situations, including heart attacks in situations where a standard electrocardiogram is not available, he said. I agreed.

Findings were published online on August 31st JAMA Cardiology..

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For more information on the ECG, American Heart Association..