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The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

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Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#51

Interesting, but are people really sleeping with their Apple Watch on? I don't you need to charge it every night?

You could sleep with it and put it to charge when you wake up and it will probably be charged when you leave the house.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#53
post #18

97% accuracy seems high, but with an approximate sales number of 10 million Apple watches, it will give 300 thousand users an incorrect diagnosis.

Which is not so bad. They can follow up and figure it out. Some people will go for decades before getting a proper diagnostic - or even die before they get one.

Only 300k would have to, if this device would tag its diagnosis with “but it is incorrect”. Otherwise, up to the full 100% would have to “follow up and figure it out”.

Also, of those 10M, where would those told “your blood pressure is OK” or “you don’t have sleep apnea” get the hint to “follow up and figure it out”?

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#54
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hypertension presents no symptoms and left undiagnosed can lead to kidney failure. It's often referred to by doctors as 'the silent killer', and you don't need to eat like shit and be fat to have it. Going to your GP 2-3 times a year and getting your blood pressure checked (and your blood tested for the 'regular stuff') solves the problem. 'Listening to your body' pseudoscience doesn't really solve the problem.

When I had a medical test for my Australian permanent residency - full thorax x-ray, HIV test, the works - I asked the doctor doing the final once-over if "a routine checkup" is something I should be doing. He asked me how old I was. 30-ish, at the time. He asked me if I felt healthy. Yep. He said no, don't bother.

Pretty sure it's an American thing, the idea that you need several checkups a year as if you were a car that constantly needs maintenance, and we can debate forever why that is (my bet is money). It doesn't seem to happen in countries with socialized healthcare where care is distributed accordning to criticality and population risk rather than what generates the most revenue. If you're in your 20's or 30's the odds of you being affected by something are miniscule. It doesn't hurt to get a checkup every few years I guess, but several times a year is ridiculous.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#55
post #18

97% accuracy seems high, but with an approximate sales number of 10 million Apple watches, it will give 300 thousand users an incorrect diagnosis.

Give 1000 people apple watches with the app versus 1000 people other smart watches without the capability. At the end of the year, find out how well diagnosed the two groups are.

Before doing an expensive and inaccurate field experiment, we can calculate the expected cost per QALJ [1] by taking the following variables:

- Estimated accuracy and recall of the test

- Estimated probability of user doing a follow-up based on feedback from watch

- Estimated price of a doctors visit

- Estimated probability of a follow-up test using medical grade equipment (based on additional data)

- Estimated cost per QALJ of the extra test and follow-ups

- Estimated prevalence of arrhythmia among Apple Watch users based on age-group

I expect, but do not know, the Apple Watch tests to prove to be a net-negative compared to doing nothing.

[1] Quality Adjusted Life Year

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#56
post #18

97% accuracy seems high, but with an approximate sales number of 10 million Apple watches, it will give 300 thousand users an incorrect diagnosis.

Give 1000 people apple watches with the app versus 1000 people other smart watches without the capability. At the end of the year, find out how well diagnosed the two groups are.

“Versus Apple watches without the app” is the better control, I would think. It would make it easier to keep their GP’s in the dark as to who is in the control group and who isn’t.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#57
post #44

It's quite interesting - the way we have evolved as a society has completely broken the link between "us and our body". We have stopped listening to it a long time ago. If we really listened to our bodies, we wouldn't eat/drink/consume stuff we don't need, we wouldn't be overweight, and we'd rapidly be aware of any health-related imbalance which needs restoring. But no, we forget our original (and free-of-charge) way…

Hypertension presents no symptoms and left undiagnosed can lead to kidney failure. It's often referred to by doctors as 'the silent killer', and you don't need to eat like shit and be fat to have it. Going to your GP 2-3 times a year and getting your blood pressure checked (and your blood tested for the 'regular stuff') solves the problem. 'Listening to your body' pseudoscience doesn't really solve the problem.

Wouldn't you say that things like hypertension are only the result of something?

What I am thinking of is this:

Listen to what your body tells you when you do the things that lead to problems like hypertension.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#58

I'm skeptical about the accuracy of applications like this running on Apple Watch. I bought the Apple Watch Series 3 precisely because of articles like this. I now routinely get messages about how I've achieved my standing goal - while lying in bed watching TV or working on my laptop. If it can't accurately tell whether you're lying down or standing, it is unimaginable to me that it could be remotely accurate in dete…

It is more like a copy-text / UI design issue. The point is to move around regularly to improve your health.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#59
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hypertension presents no symptoms and left undiagnosed can lead to kidney failure. It's often referred to by doctors as 'the silent killer', and you don't need to eat like shit and be fat to have it. Going to your GP 2-3 times a year and getting your blood pressure checked (and your blood tested for the 'regular stuff') solves the problem. 'Listening to your body' pseudoscience doesn't really solve the problem.

When I had a medical test for my Australian permanent residency - full thorax x-ray, HIV test, the works - I asked the doctor doing the final once-over if "a routine checkup" is something I should be doing. He asked me how old I was. 30-ish, at the time. He asked me if I felt healthy. Yep. He said no, don't bother.

It goes against typical advice, then.

Or don't do it, maybe you'll develop cancer and not find out until it's too late!

EDIT: It's also free to go to the doctors in Australia so at least go once a year and do your routine bloods. Abnormalities can catch things before they progress too far that you have worse outcomes. You're paying for Medicare, use it! :)

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#60
post #38

I'm skeptical about the accuracy of applications like this running on Apple Watch. I bought the Apple Watch Series 3 precisely because of articles like this. I now routinely get messages about how I've achieved my standing goal - while lying in bed watching TV or working on my laptop. If it can't accurately tell whether you're lying down or standing, it is unimaginable to me that it could be remotely accurate in dete…

> I now routinely get messages about how I've achieved my standing goal - while lying in bed watching TV or working on my laptop. I routinely get messages about having to stand up while standing up on my standing desk at work. (Series 2 here)

You are supposed to go for a walk, which is a good thing.
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