Apple Heart Study Published in the New England Journal of Medicine

The Apple Heart Study, by Stanford University, examined whether the Apple Watch can detect atrial fibrillation

November 14, 2019

  • Summary: The Apple Heart Study into whether the Apple Watch can detect atrial fibrillation was just published in the New England Journal of Medicine
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The Apple Heart Study, conducted by Stanford University, showed that wearable technology, in this case the Apple Watch, can detect atrial fibrillation. The data was just published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Here is where you can find the article, Large-Scale Assessment of a Smartwatch to Identify Atrial Fibrillation, and the press release from Stanford University.

Mintu Turakhia, MD, associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University and co-principal investigator of the study, explained, “The study’s findings will help patients and providers understand how devices like Apple Watch can play a role in identifying atrial fibrillation, a deadly and often undiagnosed disease. With over 419,000 participants, the Apple Heart Study’s virtual approach was unprecedented and demonstrated how digital health alerts can enhance patient engagement with the health care system. A survey of participants showed that among respondents, approximately 3 out of 4 patients actively sought medical attention as a result of an irregular-pulse notification identified by their Apple Watch.”

At the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia, StopAfib.org founder, Mellanie True Hills, spoke with Marco Perez, MD, associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University, who is co-principal investigator of the study and is the lead author of the article. (Disclaimer: Mellanie True Hills is a member of the Apple Heart Study Steering Committee.)

Here are some of the news reports about the recent publication of the study:

We will be adding more news reports.

What’s next? Be on the lookout for the Heartline Study launching in early 2020 and being conducted by Johnson & Johnson and Apple and for the recently-announced collaboration between the BMS-Pfizer Alliance and Fitbit.