Fitbit and Apple watch users with heart conditions get more procedures done says a new study.

The idea of the smartwatch keeping us more informed is not new, but it is changing the behaviors of many people who have heart conditions.

A study from the Utah School of Medicine has found that patients with atrial fibrillation, a condition where the heart loses its normal rhythm can increase the risk of stroke called their doctor less when using these smartwatches.

On the other hand, these same patients underwent ablation more frequently.   This is because these watches can pick up arrhythmias and the data is exportable for you to share with your doctor.

These watches can pick up irregularities in your pulse, resulting in patients asking their doctors questions when the watch alerts them to abnormal activities.  These watches are designed for the general public and were not designed to perform medical monitoring.

On the other hand, they have been proving themselves useful to cardiologists.

Check out the article published through The Virge below.

Apple Watch, Fitbit users with heart conditions get more medical procedures
But they don’t flood doctors with worried calls

By Nicole Wetsman Jun 2, 2021, 8:49am EDT

People with irregular heartbeats who use wearable devices like Apple Watches and Fitbits aren’t overwhelming doctors with worried calls about their hearts, a new study shows. But they are more likely to be treated with a heart procedure called an ablation, the analysis found.

The small study is one of the first to show how people with existing heart problems use wearables. Devices like the Apple Watch have a heart-monitoring feature that can alert users if they have an irregular pulse. Technically, those features on the Apple Watch are only authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for people who don’t have underlying heart conditions. But people with heart conditions, including a type of abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation, are still able to buy the watch and use those same features.

Cardiologists regularly see patients who have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation bring in data from an Apple Watch or Fitbit, says study author Libo Wang, a cardiology fellow at the University of Utah School of Medicine. “There are a good amount of patients who are using these wearables outside of the FDA cleared indication,” he says. “That was sort of the motivation to start, not raising the alarm, but raising questions.”

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