By Bob Mitchell

BioTelemetry, a mobile and wireless tech company based in Malvern, recorded the electric rhythms of more than 400,000 participants’ heart beats in the Apple Heart Study performed by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The study, launched in November 2017, determined whether a mobile app that uses data from heart-rate pulse sensors on the Apple Watch can identify atrial fibrillation. The condition often goes undetected because people don’t experience any negative symptoms.

The Apple Heart Study app intermittently checked the heart-rate pulse sensor for measurements of irregular pulse throughout the study. Participants who received notification from their device about an irregular pulse scheduled a telemedicine consultation with a doctor participating in the study.

Preliminary results confirmed that wearable devices can safely identify heart rate irregularities that additional testing confirmed was atrial fibrillation.

“The results of the Apple Heart Study highlight the potential role that innovative digital technology can play in creating more predictive and preventive healthcare,” said Lloyd Minor, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine. “Atrial fibrillation is just the beginning, as this study opens the door to further research into wearable technologies and how they might be used to prevent disease before it strikes – a key goal of precision health.”

Researchers from Lankenau Heart Institute in suburban Philadelphia, Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Cooper Medical School at Rowan University in Camden, N.J., StoAfib.org, the American Foundation for Women’s Health, and Duke University contributed to the study.

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