At age 75, the results of this research will probably arrive too late to help me (10 years?), but hopefully younger AF sufferers can look forward much more positively to an individualised approach to their use of anticoagulants.
And think of the improvement that will occur in Apple Watches and other self-monitoring health devices in these next possibly 10 years.
I know which side of the trial I'm hoping is clearly superior, but regardless of the outcome of the trial, we will all know a lot more about the facts surrounding the use of DOACs, as well as stroke and bleed risks.
This is an interesting article. I had an ablation about 15 months ago and I’ve been fine. I’m monitoring myself using the Kardia six lead. I do have a supply of anticoagulants to use as a pill in the pocket if God for bid I get future AF. I think the only problem with the Apple Watch and I have one. Is that it doesn’t alert you when you get AF or any other arrhythmia. You can, of course use the watch to monitor your heart rate etc and then if you are in AF it will let you know
Apple are supplying the devices (watches) free for the study, and I'm sure this hardware will improve during the life of this research, as needed. And the algorithms will improve as well.Alternative current ideas are that a small implantable device to detect the start of AF may be needed, but this is obviously a much less desirable and more invasive procedure, and not part of this trial.
Re your intended future use of your anticoagulant as a PIP, are you saying you currently have an EP/Cardiologist who has authorised this approach? or is this your own individual choice/decision?
Yes. It’s not about being authorised but a conversation I had with him . Makes no sense to take anticoagulants if I don’t have AF . Please readers don’t quote Chadsvac at me .
Then I need another talk with my cardio doc. When I queried if I needed to stay on anticoagulants for life, even though I was otherwise healthy and fit and only have had one episode, his response was a resounding "yes". It sure would be nice to drop that pill from my daily regimen. It doesn't affect me in any way...I have bashed myself and leaked lots of red stuff, but only slightly more than normal. But still. If I don't need it.
Not sure I understand what you are saying. Kalgs' Cardiologist had a conversation with him, but didn't insist on anticoagulants for life as beach_bum's Cardiologist did.So your Cardiologist had the same approach as which Cardiologist?
"the only problem with the Apple Watch and I have one. Is that it doesn’t alert you when you get AF" which gen of Apple watch do you have? Mine (gen 5) does detect and alerts to afib.
from Apple; "Apple Watch customers have access to two pieces of software that serve as medical device features to detect heart arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation (AFib): the Irregular Rhythm Notification Feature (IRNF) and the ECG app.
On Apple Watch Series 1 or later, the IRNF analyzes pulse rate data collected by the photoplethysmograph (PPG) sensor to identify episodes of irregular heart rhythms suggestive of AFib, and it provides a notification to the user when it detects an episode. On Apple Watch Series 4, Series 5 and Series 6,
the ECG app can generate an electrocardiogram (ECG) waveform similar to a Lead I electrocardiogram, then provide a classification of that waveform as sinus rhythm (SR), atrial fibrillation (AF), high or low heart rate, or inconclusive; with ECG 2.0, additional classifications of AFib with high heart rate and poor recording are available."
I think the series of the watch is very relevant kalgs. Everything tech based improves with age. My Apple Watch 6 has notified me everytime I’ve been in af without fail and it lets me know within the first 5 minutes. Not that I need it too mind you because I know straight away anyway. But for someone who doesn’t it would be ideal.
No it’s also the capability of the hardware. You cannot implement new software on hardware that doesn’t support it. Also hardware deteriorates with age as we all know.
To say “not constantly looking for afib” is just that “not CONSTANTLY looking” if your watch was constantly scanning for and comparing differences in heart rate then the battery would be dead inside a few hours. It scans more than often enough to pick up instances of af and as I said it’s picked up literally every instance of af that I have had. Unless you have instances of af that only last a few short minutes at a time then your watch will pick it up. If your watch isn’t picking yours up then you’ve either got an old out dated watch or you haven’t got it fitted securely enough to your wrist.
The irregular rhythm notification feature on Apple Watch is not constantly looking for AFib. This means it cannot detect all instances of AFib, and people with AFib may not get a notification. From Apple web site
Thanks for the contributions of all who replied and showed interest in this research.
I wouldn't get too invested in hardware or software of current Apple Watches regarding this research, as both will evolve with Apple's participation during the progress of the 7 years of the project. The ability of these devices to warn wearers in a timely fashion will obviously be part of the protocols developed during the project.
But do remember that any potential advances in hardware and/or software that might flow from this research depend on the project proceeding past the first year, as funds awarded for grant years two through seven are subject to successful completion of milestones during grant year one.
I expect in 7 years these devices will be making a cup of tea for us while they give the bad news about the start of AF !!!!!
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