It didn’t take much to prevent a considerable part of the stroke: to feel The pulse, would suffice. He is irregular is atrial fibrillation the cause may be. This heart rhythm disorder is causing, about every fourth stroke.

Know the people Concerned, therefore, only of your atrial fibrillation, you could so some things to avoid. But no one feels, at the crucial Moment his pulse, which measures after – to confirm the diagnosis – his heart flows in, and goes to the doctor, where, if necessary, a blood thinner, would be prescribed.

often atrial fibrillation occurs only intermittently. The pulse measurement or the heart of current measurement (ECG) at the wrong Moment – and the Patient is erroneously explained to be healthy.

In 30 seconds on ECG

Digital helpers are now to remedy the situation, all the Apple Watch. They are registered in intervals of the pulse-beats. With the latest Update to the Health App, which now comes in Europe on the market, it can record the clock (Series of 4) now, even a simple ECG.

This is simple: the wrist buckles, thirty seconds forefinger of your other Hand on the buttons and the App will show whether the heart flows look normal or suspicious to atrial fibrillation.

In the manufacturer-sponsored Experiment, the Apple Watch in comparison to the conventional ECG: they detected in 238 of 239 cases, of the healthy heart rhythm. And in 236 of 240 cases of suspected atrial fibrillation correctly.

heart patients, hypochondriacs and completely Healthy now monitor your heart function. According to Statista.de have been sold worldwide so far, around 40 million Apple Watches.

a thousand times a false Alarm

Whether the search for atrial fibrillation but for the General public is really helpful, doubt different professionals. The “US Preventive Services task force”, a body that makes recommendations to precautionary measures, advises against explicitly by the Screening, by ECG, It is not better than the pulse.

And even if the hit has delivered rate of the Apple Watch in an attempt promising results, it is a lot of – unnecessary – stress. In the case of the 55-Year-olds, about one in 500 people has atrial fibrillation in the over 85-Year-old, however, one out of ten.

it Takes an average frequency of two per cent, and the meeting on the basis of security of the clock in the Experiment, means that the per Million users between 3920 and 22’540 persons, for which the PM suspected of falsely atrial fibrillation. That means thousands of times of uncertainty and further medical investigations.

“Such devices are a curse and a blessing,” says Pascal Köpfli, Deputy Chief physician at the Kantonsspital Baden. Open is also how well the Apple Watch performs under real-world conditions. Sweating, and movements of, for example, affect your measurement.

Apart from that, the doctors don’t know (yet) how much atrial fibrillation is harmless and when it is dangerous. “It could well be that we remember, thanks to these new devices, that it occurs more frequently than we have so far. It then has the illness or not? Because questions are still open,” says heart specialist Flan.

There is also no exact Definition of when a heart rhythm disorder as atrial fibrillation: it Needs to stop is longer than 10, 30, or 1800 seconds? And, for example, 6 minutes have atrial fibrillation at the piece more dangerous than three times in 2 minutes? Such questions can explore the scientists with the new devices and Apps only now.

even before the Apple Watch with other products on the market. The German company Preventicus, for example, has developed for iOS and Android, the App Heartbeats. Heartbeats works with almost every Smartphone and detects the pulse via the built-in camera in the Smartphone.

Other Apps, like Kardia AliveCor works by using a mobile Mini-ECG-device is placed on the chest, or with fingers. “I give, for example, patients who knock back the heart, or dizziness of uncertain cause. Such an Episode occurs again, can EKGaufzeichnen the Patient in the Moment and as a PDF to send,” says Flan. With around 160Franken of the gastric Cardia AliveCor is cheaper than the Apple Watch, which starts at 449Franken.

Flan would recommend the Apple Watch and similar Apps currently primarily persons over the age of 65 with risk factors for atrial fibrillation. These include hypertension, Diabetes, or Obesity. “In these cases, it is worthwhile to take a closer look,” advises Pascal Flan.

ECG and the emergency as lock medium

For companies such as Apple, this population group is interesting, because so far, seniors have a little more on the hat with iPhone & co. in Addition to the ECG function of the watch, for example, an emergency call function, when the carrier is brought down.

The crucial question is whether an App to the atrial fibrillation diagnosis really cause less impact, is still open. This spring, a team of European researchers started a study that aims to provide answers to many of them. There is a comparison group of patients will be the first to receive the usual treatment.

Such studies are important because not every person with atrial fibrillation benefit from treatment with a blood thinner, and – in addition to the Benefit, to unwanted, severe bleeding.

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 27.03.2019, 22:20 PM