Follow up Post to Smartwatches. Regarding their Use with Pacemakers

[Bcol]

Hi all

Please find the link below to a report by the BHF (British Heart Foundation) regarding the us of Smartwatches/equipment with Pacemakers and similar equipment.

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Thanks...

[Hulotsholiday]

Thank you. It’s an interesting topic; I believe there will be significant advances in regular use of smartwatch technology fairly quickly. I saw an article last week saying NHS England is going to be handing out 100,000 monitoring kits by September. They’ll include a smartphone and smartwatch and will be linked to a consultant led medical team and hospital computer. Conditions like heart failure and COPD will be monitored remotely ( the patient will be at home) and the need for hospitalisation will be reduced. Better, potentially, for the patient and frees up beds.

I saw a cardiologist yesterday after a long wait and expected to be referred for a fitted with implanted monitor to inform a diagnosis. He wanted an ecg of irregular rhythm which is sporadic. I said tentatively that I had ecgs which my Apple Watch recorded during a prolonged episode last week and on a couple of earlier occasions. He checked the ecgs which are stored in a health App on the iPhone and immediately said I have atrial fibrillation and need to start taking anticoagulants immediately. High stroke risk. (Thanks to PmrPro whose advice on a different post urged I seek attention for exactly this). I asked if I needed monitoring on a proper device and he said he was confident it would only confirm the Watch data. He did a heart scan, ecg was in sinus rhythm and normal and instead of waiting weeks and months, I left with a prescription for Apixaban, a follow up appt. In 6 months and a treatment plan which is to leave the AF until it’s more problematic, then treat with carry in the pocket tab to take if there’s an event and if those don’t control, ablation further down the line. The consultant said he has found Apple data very accurate and wants pdf of any events for the follow up.