With Apple’s newly launched Apple Watch 4 that promises ECG capabilities in the near future, many people have wondered what this means for the future of healthcare. As more tech companies delve into digital health, we at Qardio couldn’t be more excited for Apple to recognize the importance of ECG data. The incredible reach, scope and prestige of Apple will bring a much needed awareness to one of the biggest risks affecting people around the world: heart health.
Different than QardioCore, our continuous ECG monitor, the recently announced Apple Watch 4 will soon allow users to obtain a 30-second ECG reading to gain more insight into their heart health. But what will this mean for consumers?
Apple Watch FDA limitations
The Apple Watch will be a great tool as an initial step for clinical screening, but there are some important limitations set by the FDA that are vital for users to understand. The Apple Watch is not intended for people previously diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) or other known arrhythmias and is only intended for informational use. This is related to the fact that Apple Watch cannot take a continuous ECG reading which is what holter monitors and QardioCore perform.
Check our guides ”What’s the difference between a Holter monitor and QardioCore?” and ”Atrial fibrillation from A to Z” to learn more.
What cardiologists are saying
While most cardiologists share in the excitement of bringing more awareness and education around heart health, they have also raised a few questions and concern on how this could affect the industry. There have been suggestions that this new information could lead to unnecessary anxiety, tests, and increased healthcare costs – especially in young, healthy adults. There have also been concerns about how this new influx of data will overwhelm doctors and care facilities. Overall though, we believe that giving consumers a way to screen for potential heart rhythm problems is very beneficial, especially given the high number of people around the world living with an undiagnosed heart condition.
How does QardioCore compare to the Apple Watch 4?
Qardio addresses the limitations of the Apple Watch with QardioCore, our medical-grade continuous ECG monitor designed to replace holter monitors which are currently used to monitor the heart performance continuously over longer periods of time, usually for several days. QardioCore eliminates many of the issues holter monitors present such as discomfort, low quality of trace or the lack of real time data access. Unlike these traditional holter monitors QardioCore records over 20 million data points a day, doesn’t use wires or patches, streams data for immediate data analysis and provides additional metrics for a more efficient heart health diagnosis. Unlike Apple Watch, QardioCore can be used by people previously diagnosed with heart issues such as AFib. When a user wants a more in-depth look into their heart health and further investigate their Apple Watch readings, QardioCore is the device to do that. It can be worn for as long (or as little) as needed to catch many common heart issues – and this is possible when the user is active as well. The data can also be seamlessly shared with a healthcare provider in real-time via our doctor-patient platform, QardioMD. Both Apple Watch and QardioCore offer a better, more powerful tool for heart health screening and monitoring and can save time and money for both doctors and patients.
