Why doctors are worried about the Apple Watch EKG 

I AM over 65, 67 in fact. I see a cardiologist yearly. In a discussion with my cardiologist about the watch, she revealed that: 1) they were thrilled about the technology; and, 2) If I notice any problems in BOTH ECG AND heart rate monitoring, to make a quick appointment (you were so anxious to bash the ECG feature, you forgot the plethora of other features in the watch). I got the iWatch 4 not only its integration with my iPhone 6S plus and my MacBook Pro but also for ALL the health features, to include the "Fall/911 notification" feature (which I will add, can be set off with vigorous applause). You failed to discuss the issue of people being more serious about their own healthcare, to include its costs. Not that I am going to sit at home and run all my own tests. But the costs, the costs. Now get off my lawn.

Oh, it's an Electro Cardiogram, not an Electro Kardiogram...ECG

Lmfao

First, we still use the Nobel prize-winning technology developed by Willem Einthoven with regards to the naming of the limb leads and the electrical impulses, and out of respect for him many of us (including persons like myself who have been medical school faculty and taught EKG interpretation to nursing, paramedic, and medical students) refer to this as EKG. Honoring the memory of those who came before us and gave us the technology we now use is very important in medicine, so I will continue to order EKGs on patients. Second, the cardiologist in the video does not appear to understand how our healthcare system works. People are not going to make an appointment with him, they will walk right in (or possibly come in by ambulance) and see me in the emergency department, unless for some reason they have a pre-existing relationship with a cardiologist as you do, in which case they may very well benefit from that technology with some minor incremental advances in telemedicine that would allow appropriate triage either to my department or the cardiology office. The rest of the patients who are now in the ED and likely in a state of panic will then get a history and physical examination, a diagnostic-quality 12-lead (or 15-lead) EKG, and possibly additional testing as indicated. However, the most important issue is having loads of people with access to medical data which they most likely do not already possess the knowledge required to make a valid interpretation, compounded by the extremely poor quality of the single lead rhythm shown on the watch. I agree with the cardiologist in the video that the false positive rate is going to be extremely high and cause lots of unnecessary worrying. Drink a bunch of coffee and briskly walk to another building at work, you might be throwing enough premature supraventricular ectopy on top of your underlying sinus tachycardia to trip the alarm. However, I would be glad to cardiovert someone out of clearly documented new-onset atrial fibrillation under sedation and send them back home with outpatient cardiology follow-up instead of the alternative if the rhythm was not caught early.

@@rudolphbeschererjr First, "we still use the Nobel prize-winning" [sic]. So you are speaking for the entire medical field and you have applicable statistics to show that all doctors, paramedics, and nurses use the term EKG and that use is based on honoring Willem Einthoven rather than what they were taught? Great stats there doc and reasoning. Second, you, much like the narrator, fail to mention the heart monitoring capability of the software/hardware that records waking, resting, and exercising heart rate and the speed at which the wearer recovers from elevated rates. The watch also monitors and will alarm for high and low pulse rates. Do not let yourself get so hung up on the ECG feature (EKG for you and all the doctors, nurses, and paramedics). Third, get off your high horse and give some props to the folks out there who take enough interest to wear a monitor of their overall health. We are doing our best in an area where services are over-priced, costs are hidden, and insurance companies and hospitals fail to list prices for service. Also, the assumption that there will be masses showing up at their cardiologist, PCM, or "Doc-in-the-Box" is not supported by statistics. However, I would assume, IMHO (see what I did there) that anyone who is healthy enough to drink 16 ozs. of coffee and run up two flights of stair would have the requisite cardiovascular health to arrive at the third-floor intact.

Timothy L all the time

I always kneel when peeing on the side of the toilet

Hahaha

I pee outside the window

My D is too long and it touches the side of the toilet. Anyone had that problem

As someone who knows a doctor, isn't any information that gets somebody to a doctor better for the health of the patient (and your back pocket)? Where I am from, blokes just don't go to the doctors, pushing them for a checkup must be a positive.

As someone who’s friends’ sister is a doctor, I can conclude that it’s both good and bad.

As a medical doctor myself, I disagree with you because this although does not warrant invasive procedure, mass-available cardiac screenings like this would eventually create unnecessary load on healthcare system that is not good from a triage perspective of healthcare where the needy are neglected indirectly by false-positive healthy ones.

All of you are right and I completely agree with you! There is just one thing that all of your argunets underestimate - technology evolves. While this all this medical data from the v1.0 apple watch ECG may be useless now and may even be a burden to the healthcare in general, it could be a stepping stone to the next key technology, innovation and breaktrough. Imagine what v5.0 of the same product could do... In addition it will force the competition to spend capital on RnD, further improving the product. #BelieveInInnovation

@@atanasbogoev Do we really need more medical data? The problem of medical research now is the overburden of data and not the lack of it, speaking in general off course. We do need innovation but not in the sector of medical data accumulation, but in data analytics.

A young Jeff Bezos. He's got his swole on in the last two years.

Jeff who?

@@tobylii Amazon CEO

@@AchiragChiragg you obviously don't get the reference

Achirag Chirag watch the Elon musk video

really? wow. How long did it take you to get to the hospital and get care?

You're completely missing the point. It's a waste of resources to go to a doctor when you're perfectly healthy. You're taking up their valuable time when they could've been helping someone who's actually sick. Tests when you're not sick are a waste of resources.

Have you ever met a paranoid person? The doctors are worried about them.... A slight irregularity will cause panic which will lead to being worried all the time that will ultimately lead to depression (or something like that). Too much data is also a bad thing sometimes....

@@RBuckminsterFuller wasting their valuable time when I PAY them? You guys are crazy. I'm never taking any chances with my life. Better safe than sorry

@@bundubashing2591 To doctors it is. It is the same thing as idiots using the ER for a paper cut. Sure, no prob, you are paying for it. But is it a good idea that 70 people are using the ER for paper cuts and hangovers when the 10 that do need a doctor are just waiting for hours. And yes, people do lie about their problems being worse than it is just to go to the ER.

@@sasukeuchiha998 I don't think it's fair to conflate people going to the doc because of a device that is FDA approved and has been subjected to scientific studies to determine its accuracy to idiots going because of paper cuts.

yes

Gold Jerry! Gold!

EPIC JOKE

A doctor a day keeps the apple away (due to lack of money)

This has been apple’s end goal the whole time lmao

😆😆

Good luck on your surgery.

Enjoy your $200k surgery

You obviously are rich so... good luck on your surgery

As you said you probably did it very loose and that’s the problem lol

They say you dont need home ECG because more people will be going in hospital and demand help

You don't have to go to the emergency room for Afib. It doesn't kill people. I've had it for a decade. It's a risk factor for other things, so you talk to your doctor and a cardio specialist to figure out if you need to make lifestyle changes or have medical intervention.

You're completely missing the point. It's a waste of resources to go to a doctor when you're perfectly healthy. You're taking up their valuable time when they could've been helping someone who's actually sick. And you want to waste the time of a second and even third doctor as well?

It is a concern. A false positive would be terrifying for most people. Yes it gets them to see their doctor but even if their doctor says it's ok people can still be unnerved by the Apple Watch false positive reading. Rationality doesn't work for irrational fears

You lost me on "doctors themselves make a lot of mistakes" and then recommending for a SPECIALIST. You're being contradictory

Yeah but in the US it´ll cost you a whole lot more.

So a professor who has studied this subject his entire life says that this is a concern, yet you think you know more than he does? You clearly know nothing of the impact of false positives on patient health in the long term.

Simon this video is so wrong

This got me mad to. No doctor will ever perform a surgery because some person Apple watch said so. The only use for the watch test is to make people aware of a possible problem and make them go to a doctor and check if the problem is really there.

It's a poorly focused video. Healthy person with a smart watch demanding attention in a crowded emergency room seems a more practical concern. Still less harmful than WebMD.

It's about patient overload. There's no point going to a doctor for a follow up test if you're in a low risk group and don't have any symptoms. It wastes their time and money that could be used to treat someone who's actually sick. It also wastes your time (and money for those without an NHS or medical plan) if you're in said group.

Have you ever met a paranoid person? The doctors are worried about them.... A slight irregularity will cause panic which will lead to being worried all the time that will ultimately lead to depression (or something like that). Too much data is also a bad thing sometimes....

Underrated

So you would visit a doctor each time your Apple watch tells you that you have afib? It brings up a false sense of concern.

@@pupiniastewart1957 if after you visit the doctor for the first time you see that the Apple EKG isn't that accurate then (assuming that the Apple watch results have low variance) you can just accept that slight afib on the Apple Watch is your standard condition and you should only be alarmed when the EKG warns you that your afib got much worse. If, on the other hand, the Apple Watch can't even generate false positives with low variance it's just trash.

What if the doctor is wrong tho, a lot of doctors could make mistakes

But so far it has been really promising according reddit

@@Takito_Loko Yes, it happens. Nothing you can do about it. They certainly make less mistakes than an Apple Watch though, their tests are way more precise than what is physically possible for a watch.

It's about patient overload. There's no point going to a doctor for a follow up test if you're in a low risk group and don't have any symptoms. It wastes their time and money that could be used to treat someone who's actually sick. It also wastes your time (and money for those without an NHS or medical plan) if you're in said group.

Sounds like the main point of this video went over your head. If all these paranoid people wearing Apple watch freak out and go to hospitals in droves, they RAISE THE COSTS OF HEALTHCARE with their bullshit paranoia. Not to mention, they hog up all the resources, and time from patients WHO DO NEED these facilities.

Jon G Agreed, but it goes beyond that. A lot of those people will not feel comforted, even after a proper test revealing its nothing. They may stay paranoid, believing that it happened temporarily and will happen again later. These are the people that will essentially turn themselves into patients when there’s nothing wrong with them. We’ve seen this with WebMD already. The only difference is, with WebMD people are starting to realize the way to avoid said fear it to just avoid the website. With the Apple Watch, people are rushing to use ECG instead to simply not using it, because they don’t recognize the risks. These false positives can be scary… like, stop-your-life scary, and the fear doesn’t always go away.

👘1 `☆0 I9555 aDwz 61kluxgwb ib1s ₩0uqi

And that's precisely the problem. So many people are going to be coming to hospitals because their smart watch picked up an irregularity, which puts strain on the system and in some extreme cases, may prevent the people who actually need this equipment from getting it.

For real

Rather than just give yourself the bypass surgery straight away?

@@Piesy001 yep, I know I could do it myself at the kitchen table... but I prefer a doctor, this way I get medical leave.

Harry 8642 hey can you the app for ECG cant find it

Sean Rawlinson that's actually how a good few people discover they have cancer. You went to the hospital for a different reason but came out with something else.

Then whats the point go get tested shut up

Does the series 2 even have EKG ?

The Apple Watch 2, which I have currently, does not have this feature.

@@EmilyLovesTea123 that's why the doctor suggested to get a new apple watch

>Freaking out and following it up with a medical professional is not a bad thing. Yes it is. It's putting unnecessary strain on medical professionals, who are already overworked.

@@deadeaded They're not overworked

@@McDonaldsDude It's not uncommon for medical professionals to work 24 hour shifts. In what universe does that not count as overworked?

even 12 lead EKGs have false positives. So it can lead to overdiagnosis and anxiety attacks.

@@McDonaldsDude Where do you live? They are definitely overworked

It such a basic point. Amazing how this so called doctor misses it. Ah the joys of American health profession.

exactly

@@jan2000nl Not really. Because treatment and option is not a free risk. So aside from potentially wasting a good chunk of your money, time, and resource from a boatload more test, It also potentially expose an otherwise perfectly healthy person to a risk they getting from the preventive/treatment. This video didn't discuss or explain it in great detail, and frankly quite poor explaining it. Here's one of Cardiologist expressing his thought. It's a legit concern. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-s0sv3Kuurhw.html

There is a 6-lead EKG from Kardia that maybe could be a second level of surety and that is read by a cardiologist for $10 per month.

It's about patient overload. There's no point going to a doctor for a follow up test if you're in a low risk group and don't have any symptoms. It wastes their time and money that could be used to treat someone who's actually sick. It also wastes your time (and money for those without an NHS or medical plan) if you're in said group.

@@Crispman_777 well if you don't have symptoms then you aren't going to go to the doctor, so I don't see how patient overload would be a problem If youre young and healthy with no symptoms you can expect the EKG's that you run on your Apple Watch to always be normal. In the event of a false positive you might go to the doctor but most likely the more comprehensive medical tests would clear you of any danger. False positives are not the norm actually they are the exception so the amount of extra patients that would end up at a hospital because of a false positive would be negligible and probably undetectable.

Next gen apple watch will have blood glucose measurement too

I was looking through the comments to see if anyone else caught that. I disregarded his expertise as soon as he said that. Arrhythmias are typically not a sign of good health.

Yes. At least that's what I learned in med school. Unless someone can give me a scientific journal stating otherwise. I stand to be corrected.

Hunter Healer I caught that too. I’m very surprised more people didn’t .

@@lancelove7225 im a medical student and i also caught that lol

Sinus arrhythmias could be a sign of good health. www.escardio.org/Journals/E-Journal-of-Cardiology-Practice/Volume-4/Electrocardiographic-findings-in-athletes-Title-Electrocardiographic-findings Bradycardia is hugely frequent on intense sports practitioners. Also what i learned in med school.

But different conclusion, and focused on different things

@@Yathuprem What did it say?

I knew he looked familiar!

@@Crispman_777 Made some comments about how CLOSE are the result compared to medical instruments.

@@Yathuprem Right. Was it good?

OMG wow that's cool hope ir fine

Kim Jong Trump they charge too expensive anyway

Kim Jong Trump Wouldn’t the false positives from the Apple Watch get them MORE customers coming in for screening? Your comment makes no sense.

AbuBakr Akram yes it does make sense, since they don’t need a doctor any more to check their health.

Kim Jong Trump Maybe they wouldn’t need a doc in the far future. But today, it’s just gonna make folks come in to get checked.

AbuBakr Akram it can work both ways, people might feel something’s wrong then check using their watch and find nothing wrong. So then they decide not to go to the hospital

without the apple watch you wouldn't know if it would be a positive or negative either

that makes 0 logical sense

You are absolutely correct. This is the argument they should have made in this video and not the false positive one.

Congrats, you havw anxiety

Yay

@@dr_intel Why? Being better aware of health and activities doesn't mean having more tests. And doctors won't decide if patients should take a test depending on if they're with such a device. What is your reason to think patients with such a device will have unnecessary tests? Never say the devices aren't so accurate because doctors never decide what to do for patients only based on data from these.

So it worked out well and you are glad you had it?

What watch you decide to buy?

Indranil Ghosh but that doesn’t get the point across

No it's not saying regular checkups are bad but if got a checkup you would know that ecg is not routinely done save for 1. high-risk patients 2. patients with symptoms or 3. people with occupational reasons to get one e.g. pilot.There is a reason for this and it's because the research says you would do more harm to someone if you found something and did further testing and it was benign (most likely) and that regular screenings e.g. listening to heart sounds and taking vital signs to include heart rate and blood pressure is a better screening anyways. At least that's what we know right now it may change in the future but I just disagree that the general public should be the Ginny pig for this as is what is happening right now.

Cameron Alexander - I wonder if people thought the same as you whenever the general public started keeping thermometers in the house.

@@brokenwizards9122 Okay I acknowledged that it may change but that still dosn't debunk the fact that ecgs are not part of any EBM routine checkup. I don't disagree with people checking there own blood pressure or learning how to take a pulse in general or even just learning about health. Its just the electrocardiography is not the same because there are simply too many factors. should people be kept in the dark about this information? no, absolutely not what I am saying. The burden just shouldn't be on doctors to fix the non-issue turning into an issue because studies have not been conducted yet and people have not been properly educated.

Broken Wizards This is such a ridiculous analog. Thermometers help identify fevers, which are commons in EVERYONE and nearly always indicate some form of infection. That’s different than constant, round the clock screening for a disease that the young people who wear these watches seldom ever have.

AbuBakr Akram - it’s actually a great analogue for how I used it. A medical device that is commonly found in homes. A device that will give results at home, but will 100% of the time still be rechecked in a medical setting. A device that lets people know more about what’s going on with their body.

Prajwal Parmar THIS VIDEO WAS TRASH HAHAHA WTF YOU TALKING ABOUT

EKG is the german acronym, theres an acronym that's very similar and or the same as ECG I cant remember lol, so they use the german version to minimize confusion in the medical field

Philson It’s called EKG now because it sounds too similar to EEG, which is completely different test.

That is the correct spelling, EKG is the german version of ECG and it's used over ECG due to a similar acronym to minimize confusion. This video was pretty bogus though other than that

Yea this is a big plus ask health insurance my cover it lol