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Hands-On With the ECG Feature for Apple Watch Series 4

Treebark said:
Why? A normal resting heart rate is between 60-100 and he was even in that range while not resting. While a lower resting heart rate may indicate better cardiovascular shape, he also wasn't exactly resting while filming the video. Moving around, talking, maybe the stress of doing a video demo all would elevate his resting heart rate.
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So? If all those are false calls then perhaps a waste of time. But if some people get their lives saved by this was it really a waste of time? And don't tell me it depends on the people. 😉
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That is not normal.
 
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Please note that FDA Clearance = FDA approval. There are just 2 ways to go about registration depending on the classification of the device and if something similar already exists:

What is the difference between Cleared and Approved?
In order for medical devices to be legally marketed (sold) in the United States, they are required to be cleared or approved by the FDA unless it is 510(k) exempt.

Cleared medical devices: These medical devices are ones that FDA has determined to be substantially equivalent to (similar) another legally marketed device. A premarket notification submission is referred to as a 510(k) and must be submitted to FDA to review and provide clearance.

Approved medical devices: Approved medical devices are those devices that the FDA has approved a premarket approval (PMA) application or a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) application. This review and approval process is for Class III medical devices (the ones with the highest risk) and involves a more rigorous review than the 510(k) review process.
 
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Moof1904 said:
It seems a bit absurd that the FDA states this should not be used by those who already have been diagnosed with a-fib. Wouldn't such people want to know if their a-fib is being well controlled by whatever anti-a-fib-whatever their doctor has them on?
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Because people would use this solely as the only way to identify arrhythmias which could prove problematic if the person is having some other arrhythmia etc.
 
Why in the hell is my ecg not connecting to the health app. WatchOS 5.1.2 & iOS 12.1.1 latest Beta.
 
Well, I’m ready.

I just was at the doctor for a new patient meet, left with the order for a Holter monitor to try to find out what is going on with my heart. I tend to think I have POTS, but time will tell. I could have used the ECG a couple of nights ago honestly.
 
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Hi,
I live in Argentina and could use the ECG app with no issues. No workaround applied, i.e., my Apple account is from Argentina.
The ECG log is now stored in the Health app in my iPhone.
Regards,
Carlos
 
ericgtr12 said:
I predict a 200% rise in calls to the doctor by tomorrow.
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now i see it said:
I can tell you right now... this is going to create a lot of unnecessary anxiety for countless users who see an occasional heart jump on the display. Admittedly, it might help a few people too.
This is gong to be one of those devices that people either obsess on, (100x worse than your iPhone battery capacity meter) or learn to ignore and not use after a few panicked visits to the Dr, reveal nothing can be done about occasional irregular heartbeats.

It's going to be helpful and harmful. The few it helps will come at the expense of the many who develop anxiety disorders staring at it incessantly.
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100% agree and I’m who had this issue! It drive me crazy so I don’t wear the watch anymore and I feel fine.

I’m super laid back but for whatever reason the watch triggered some anxiety. I never even knew what anxiety was before!
 
Great news. Went to great lengths to sell my series 2, bought the 4 mainly to track my afib here in Ireland and find out changing the region wont activate the feature and likely we’ll never see it here. Still, it’s a cracking watch even without the ecg
 
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I had some trouble getting it set up initially. I'm a part of the public beta program for iOS, and was on the public beta build of 12.1.1 on my iPhone X. Installed Watch OS 5.2.1 on my Apple Watch 4, and opened the new ECG app. The ECG app on my watch told me to open the Health app on my phone, which I did. But I didn't see anything new. I called Apple and didn't get a lot of help.

Finally I removed the public beta profile from my iPhone, which then allowed me to install the 'real' 12.1.1. After I had the real 12.1.1 build installed I was able to go back through the steps and set up the ECG. It was a hassle, but I got it to work.
 
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mattyj2001 said:
I just went out and bought an Apple watch for this very purpose. (plus I was about due, anyway.) I have occasional (2-3 times a year) heart palpitations and over the years the docs have never been able to capture it to see what was going on. Or to even know how often it happens (I only notice it when I'm in a sedentary posture.) It's difficult to describe the heartbeat pattern to a human, too.

At the very least this will likely let me know how often this occurs, I may not notice it sometimes. Plus if I'm able to capture it in-watch a few times perhaps the admittedly not entirely clinical tape could give a clue on where to look for problems with my ticker.

I'm not under any delusions that this qualifies as a medical device, but broadly it could give me an idea of how prevalent the problem really is, and perhaps the intensity of it at the time it occurs.
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If you have health insurance, you need to talk to your Dr. about having a THIRTY-DAY (NOT 24 hour!) Holter Monitor "Study" done. That will catch and report any heart irregularities that happen any time over that time period. They even have a button you can press to force an "Event Recording" if you FEEL symptoms coming-on.
 
BrennanWDavis said:
I had some trouble getting it set up initially. I'm a part of the public beta program for iOS, and was on the public beta build of 12.1.1 on my iPhone X. Installed Watch OS 5.2.1 on my Apple Watch 4, and opened the new ECG app. The ECG app on my watch told me to open the Health app on my phone, which I did. But I didn't see anything new. I called Apple and didn't get a lot of help.

Finally I removed the public beta profile from my iPhone, which then allowed me to install the 'real' 12.1.1. After I had the real 12.1.1 build installed I was able to go back through the steps and set up the ECG. It was a hassle, but I got it to work.
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That's why there are Beta Testers... ;-)
 
BrennanWDavis said:
I had some trouble getting it set up initially. I'm a part of the public beta program for iOS, and was on the public beta build of 12.1.1 on my iPhone X. Installed Watch OS 5.2.1 on my Apple Watch 4, and opened the new ECG app. The ECG app on my watch told me to open the Health app on my phone, which I did. But I didn't see anything new. I called Apple and didn't get a lot of help.

Finally I removed the public beta profile from my iPhone, which then allowed me to install the 'real' 12.1.1. After I had the real 12.1.1 build installed I was able to go back through the steps and set up the ECG. It was a hassle, but I got it to work.
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Thanks!
 
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ditdot said:
Why in the hell is my ecg not connecting to the health app. WatchOS 5.1.2 & iOS 12.1.1 latest Beta.
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I'm having the same issue. My iPhone was already up to date and I followed the instructions for updating the S4. For some reason it won't make a connection to the Health app. I'm on an iPhone XS. I did resets on both devices, unpaired and repaired. Still won't initiate the Health app.

UPDATE: I removed the public beta profile. Thanks to the previous commenter for the advice.
 
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Baymowe335 said:
If that 98bpm is accurate, Dan might need to talk to his doctor about exercise.
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Okay, it is only 1 test with a watch that is still in Beta!
Normally, it takes a few takes to get the 'average' heart rate- Just like blood pressure, sometimes the test fails to give accurate results that is why we need to take the average. Secondly, we don't know if that is really his true resting heart rate- not talking, laying down, relaxed state.
A heart rate is not exactly an exact science, I done a LOT of research into it because I used to have anxiety over the heart rate numbers. However! a lower heart rate can be achieved via regular exercise, which me and many others lack.
 
mattyj2001 said:
I would posit that anyone flying into a panic over this is already prone to panic. I don't think a calm, rational, intelligent human being is suddenly going to go bonkers over this. Hypochondriacs already call the doctor too much, this might just add an extra call here and there.
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mattyj2001 said:
I just went out and bought an Apple watch for this very purpose. (plus I was about due, anyway.) I have occasional (2-3 times a year) heart palpitations and over the years the docs have never been able to capture it to see what was going on. Or to even know how often it happens (I only notice it when I'm in a sedentary posture.) It's difficult to describe the heartbeat pattern to a human, too.
At the very least this will likely let me know how often this occurs, I may not notice it sometimes. Plus if I'm able to capture it in-watch a few times perhaps the admittedly not entirely clinical tape could give a clue on where to look for problems with my ticker.
I'm not under any delusions that this qualifies as a medical device, but broadly it could give me an idea of how prevalent the problem really is, and perhaps the intensity of it at the time it occurs.
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I know you said you are not prone to panic and are completely rational.. I never knew anybody (all humans) are completely rational. You might be the first. I was going to suggest have the doctor given you a EKG machine that you wear to monitor your day yet? That way they can pinpoint the palpitation. If not, it would be regular anxiety. Sometimes, regular anxiety / panic attack can feel like a heart attack. I only know from personal experience. Also, I know my past history with Panic attacks, which I also made me drawn to this feature on the watch and I bought it for this reason... are you sure you don't suffer anxiety lol? You sound like me
 
Here’s a juicy scenario for you malpractice attorneys and clinicians out there...Let’s say a person is signaled by the Apple Watch that they are in atrial fibrillation. The person goes to his doctor, and the physician orders an EKG, which shows the patient is in sinus rhythm. Does the physician A) trust the reading on the watch, and start the patient on a blood thinner or B) Not accept the data from the watch and not initiate a blood thinner? I would think most physicians not accepting/trusting new technology might go with scenario B. Should the patient actually have paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, develops a mural thrombus that embolizes and leads to stroke, the patient in scenario B would have some substantial evidence against the physician should litigation be attempted.

I know, it’s not going to be a frequent scenario, but makes for some interesting malpractice commentary.
 
pdaholic said:
Here’s a juicy scenario for you malpractice attorneys and clinicians out there...Let’s say a person is signaled by the Apple Watch that they are in atrial fibrillation. The person goes to his doctor, and the physician orders an EKG, which shows the patient is in sinus rhythm. Does the physician A) trust the reading on the watch, and start the patient on a blood thinner or B) Not accept the data from the watch and not initiate a blood thinner? I would think most physicians not accepting/trusting new technology might go with scenario B. Should the patient actually have paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, develops a mural thrombus that embolizes and leads to stroke, the patient in scenario B would have some substantial evidence against the physician should litigation be attempted.

I know, it’s not going to be a frequent scenario, but makes for some interesting malpractice commentary.
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Playing doctor and lawyer on the internet what if game. Yeah, no thanks I’m neither
 
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