Experts are calling for Apple smartwatches to be made available to NHS patients with a common heart rhythm disorder.
This request follows a landmark study published last week by researchers at Barts Hospital in London, which found that giving patients the watch significantly reduces unplanned hospital admissions, improves patients' quality of life and catches more potentially fatal heart events than standard care.
Researchers analyzed data from nearly 200 patients with atrial fibrillation – a condition that causes rapid and irregular heartbeats, and can lead to stroke or heart failure.
Previous studies have shown that up to 50% of patients treated for this condition may experience symptoms again. Currently, patients are only monitored at three, six and 12 months after treatment and may then be offered a device to monitor their heart for a 24-hour period.
In this trial, patients were given Apple Watches to monitor their hearts for a year after treatment. Researchers found that the number of unplanned hospital visits was halved for patients who used the watch.
Patients with the device also showed higher levels of recurrent symptoms, suggesting that the watch improves the capture and speed of identifying the condition. This is because patients can monitor their own condition; on average, patients took 170 ECGs – recordings of the heart’s electrical activity – over the one-year period.
Dr. Nikhil Ahluwalia, cardiologist at Barts Hospital and lead author of the study, said:
"By giving patients the power to monitor their condition at home, we have been able to reduce unplanned hospital visits and catch recurring symptoms sooner."
With Apple Watch we went from a brief 'snapshot' of the heart to a 'video' throughout the year.
Without this device, providing this level of care would require invasive procedures to implant a device under the skin.”
The researchers add that another benefit of using the watch as part of aftercare is that it ensures equitable access to cardiology care across the country.
“A patient from Cornwall, before the clinical trial, was admitted to the hospital every six weeks,” says Dr. Ahluwalia.
"For this reason, she gave up her very active lifestyle and lived in fear of the symptoms returning. In this trial, we showed that she could manage the condition at home and decide when a visit to the emergency room was necessary. She returned to her active lifestyle and managed the condition with medication."
The research team says the Apple Watch would be a cost-effective tool for the NHS. “The cost of a device is comparable to a single hospital assessment,” says Dr. Ahluwalia. “There is a strong case for introducing it to the NHS.”
The latest figures from the British Heart Foundation show that the number of people with atrial fibrillation in the UK has increased by 50% in a decade. Currently around 1.5 million people – one in 45 – live with the condition. /GazetaExpress/
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