Overview

• A new Stanford Medicine study shows that smartwatches, such as the Apple Watch, are effective in diagnosing irregular heart rhythms in children, overcoming the limitations of traditional cardiac monitors.
• Over a four-year period, patients’ medical records mentioned “Apple Watch” 145 times. Among patients whose medical records mentioned the smartwatch, 41 had abnormal heart rhythms confirmed by traditional diagnostic methods; of these, 29 children had their arrythmias diagnosed for the first time.
• Most of the abnormal rhythms detected were not life-threatening, but they can cause distressing symptoms such as a racing heartbeat, dizziness, and fainting.
• Existing smartwatch algorithms are based on adult heart patterns and aren't optimized for kids, who have faster heartbeats and experience different types of abnormal rhythms than adults.
• The Stanford Medicine research team plans to conduct a study to further assess the utility of the Apple Watch for detecting children’s heart problems.