Heart disease is the number one disease in many countries. The United States even designates February as Heart Month to encourage people to pay more attention to their heart health. In recent years, among the top 10 causes of death in Taiwan, the top three will be heart disease. As wearable devices become more and more popular, more heart-related measurements are applied. If you have an Apple Watch, don’t just use it to tell the time. Through the heart health monitoring function, you can care about your heart health at any time.
High and low heart rate notifications
Apple Watch automatically checks in the background for unusually high or low heart rates while the user is resting, as this could be a sign of a serious underlying medical condition. Users will be notified if their heart rate is above 120 bpm or below 40 bpm and has been virtually inactive for 10 minutes. Of course, it is also open for users to adjust the bpm threshold, or turn these notifications on or off.
Arrhythmia Notification
The Irregular Heart Rhythm notification feature on the Apple Watch checks your heartbeat from time to time for irregular heart rhythms that could be atrial fibrillation (AFib). Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat in which the atria and ventricles beat out of sync. Some people with atrial fibrillation have no symptoms, but if not treated early, atrial fibrillation can lead to heart failure or blood clots, which can lead to stroke. In addition, the function of arrhythmia notification is not suitable for people who have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.
ECG App
Users who have symptoms such as rapid heartbeat or missing heartbeat can record the potential changes of the heart through the electrocardiogram. The mode of operation is to use the electronic heart rate sensor built into the digital crown and the back of the crystal glass to record. Therefore, when operating, make sure that the Apple Watch is firmly attached to the wrist, and open the ECG App on the Apple Watch, and set the Put your arm on the table or your lap, and place your finger on the digital crown with the other finger that is not wearing the watch. After waiting patiently for about 30 seconds, the result will be displayed and sent to the App at the same time. The recorded waveforms, results, date, time, and any symptoms are recorded on the App and can be exported as a PDF from the Health App for sharing with clinicians.
Cardiac fitness
The Cardiac Fitness feature provides scientifically validated estimates of VO2max, the amount of oxygen your body can take in during exercise. The American Heart Association recognizes VO2max as a strong predictor of overall health. Users can even choose to receive AI notifications if their classification is downgraded to “low,” which is associated with risk for important long-term health conditions. Fortunately, most mental fitness problems can be improved through exercise, and it’s easy to track along the way through the Apple Watch.