Researchers Using AI and Apple Watch ECGs to Detect Weak Heart Pump

At the Heart Rhythm Society conference this week, research data was shared that shows that artificial intelligence can be used to find patients with a weak heart pump by using single-lead electrocardiograms taken by the Apple Watch.

Up to nine percent of people over the age of 60 are affected by a weak heart pump. A weak heart pump can have no symptoms if the Apple Watch can detect it. It can also be accompanied by symptoms such as racing heart beats.

Paul Friedman, chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said that it is absolutely remarkable that artificial intelligence is able to use a consumer watch to detect a condition that usually requires an echocardiogram.

The Apple Watch requires users to place a finger on the crown for 30 seconds in order to use the single-lead ECG feature. Results are uploaded to the Apple Health app and can be shared with medical professionals. The Apple Watch features are being studied in the detection of other conditions, even though the ECGs are designed to help detect a particular type of heart disease.

A standard electrocardiogram uses 12 leads that are placed on a person's chest, arms, and legs. Researchers modified an existing 12-lead algorithm that is known to be able to detect a weak heart muscle in order to use the single-lead ECG results from the Apple Watch.

Over a period of six months, 125,610 ECGs were collected from 46 states and 11 countries. The cleanest readings were used for the program. The data from the clinical testing of several hundred participants was used to determine if the Apple Watch could detect an issue.

Approximately 420 patients had a watch ECG recorded within 30 days of a clinically ordered echocardiogram, or ultrasound of the heart, a standard test to measure pump strength. We took advantage of those data to see whether we could identify a weak heart pump with AI analysis of the watch ECG. While our data are early, the test had an area under the curve of 0.88, meaning it is as good as or slightly better than a medical treadmill test. AI analysis of the watch ECG is a powerful test to identify a weak heart pump.

To demonstrate the benefit of the single-lead ECG feature in the Apple Watch, researchers plan to launch global prospective studies.

This is what the transformation of medicine looks like, when you can diagnose a serious disease from your sofa.