ECG on Apple Watches in the Philippines
An ECG or electrocardiogram is one of the simplest and fastest tests used to evaluate the heart.
It has been more than 2 years since Apple released its first smart watch that offers the ability to perform ECG measurements. Unfortunately, during its first release in September 2018, the ECG feature has been activated only in select countries. With the latest update of watch OS 7.3, ECG on an Apple Watch Series 4 or later can now be used in the Philippines.
I was one of those Series 4 owners that got excited when Apple announced that the Philippines was one of the countries that will have ECG activated.
In a traditional ECG machine, electrodes are placed at certain spots on the chests, arms and legs to measure the heart’s electrical activity. The results are printed out in a piece of paper and is interpreted by a cardiologist.
With an Apple Watch Series 4 and later, measuring an ECG can be done anytime and anywhere by just holding the watch’s digital crown for 30 seconds. The Apple Watch can detect if you heart is beating normally in a uniform or in an irregular pattern called Atrial Fibrillation.
The American Heart Association defines atrial fibrillation as a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications.
A study performed by the American Medical Association (JAMA), suggests that the use of ECGs recorded on smartwatches might be useful to obtain an earlier diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes. With an Apple Watch, results can be exported to a PDF and sent to your doctor for analysis which is convenient during this time of pandemic as you don’t need to make trips to the hospital to take an ECG. Your doctor of course should first agree to use an ECG generated by a smart watch to make an initial diagnosis.
However, it is important to take note that a smart watch like the Apple Watch does not detect a heart attack, stroke or other heart related conditions. It is still recommended to seek medical advice if someone is not feeling well or have any symptoms of this condition.
As a person coming from a family with a history of hypertension, I tried to convince myself that the Apple Watch was more of a need than a want. Being a member of the Philippine Watch Club, I have been exposed to the art of horology and started collecting mechanical watches for a couple of years. It was a difficult decision to purchase a $550 watch that diminished value and could not last a lifetime. But, being a gadget lover and a health enthusiast, I made the jump and it has been receiving much wrist time since then.
The Apple Watch has made me more aware of my body’s overall health and reaction to stress and has helped me build healthy habits:
It alerts me when I have been sitting too long and need to take short walks around the house. Admittedly, I still do snooze especially when binge watching my favorite series.
The high heart rate alerts tell me to take it easy when I am in a lot of stress and need to do meditations. At some point, this has helped me manage anxiety before it became worse.
I sleep with my Apple Watch and it has helped me record habits that make my sleep more restful and that encourages me to really have at least 8hrs of sleep every day.
Dr. Peter Libby, a professor at Harvard Medical School says, “wearable devices with artificial intelligence will transform our ability to monitor and predict heart disease.”
CNET, a leading tech product review site shared a videoabout how an Apple Watch saved the lives of 4 individuals, one of which was saved from cardiac arrest after the watch gave an alert for Atrial Fibrillation. The video made me realize that there is still much untapped potential for smart watches to improve one’s overall health and I am excited to see innovations that will be available to us in the near future.