The Apple Watch can detect atrial fibrillation: so what now? • Hacker News Board

Re: The Apple Watch can detect atrial fibrillation: so what now?

#11

Post by htk » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 6:15 PM UTC

vo2maxer wrote: post #6

whelsemin wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is my humble opinion, but all doctor talk of "inversion of the relationship between patients and physicians" is complete quackery. We will see medicine change for the better over the next 10 years, but it will be a long road. First step is competition in medical education.

What you’re saying is that evidence should not drive decisions in health care but rather industry marketing. And if this what you mean, how is it quackery to suggest that more studies are needed or that users need to be given more information on devices with such a significant rate of false-positives?

You deformed his “humble opinion” into something completely different. There are other ways to expose your views, this one just looks like you have an axe to grind.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect atrial fibrillation: so what now?

#12

Post by vo2maxer » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 7:01 PM UTC

htk wrote: post #11

vo2maxer wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you’re saying is that evidence should not drive decisions in health care but rather industry marketing. And if this what you mean, how is it quackery to suggest that more studies are needed or that users need to be given more information on devices with such a significant rate of false-positives?

You deformed his “humble opinion” into something completely different. There are other ways to expose your views, this one just looks like you have an axe to grind.

Please, explain to me how I deformed it when they label “all doctor talk” of the “inversion of the relationship between patients and physicians” as quackery without any reasoned argument to support such “humble opinion.” The position in the original submission is straight forward: The study was funded by Apple to drive sales by people who generally don’t suffer with atrial fibrillation. Consequently, this will create unnecessary alarm in the worried well, who will undergo needless testing and possibly harmful therapy. There is already plenty of superfluous medical evaluations and treatments at a huge cost. Are we supposed to encourage this when it is clearly industry driven with little evidence in how it advances healthcare. If this is my ax to grind, so be it, but as a physician, shouldn’t I be cynically happy that more business will be coming my way?

Re: The Apple Watch can detect atrial fibrillation: so what now?

#13

Post by copperx » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 8:16 PM UTC

What's not clear is the difference between owning a watch and getting your annual EKG with your primary doctor? Can the watch detect fibrillation not detected in your annual? I've never understood that.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect atrial fibrillation: so what now?

#14

Post by vo2maxer » Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 9:05 PM UTC

copperx wrote: post #13

What's not clear is the difference between owning a watch and getting your annual EKG with your primary doctor? Can the watch detect fibrillation not detected in your annual? I've never understood that.

The Apple Watch used a sensor to intermittently measure changes in blood flow as long as the user carried the device. The signals then generated pulse intervals over one minute which ran through an algorithm to infer the presence of an irregular ventricular rhythm. Further evaluation was conducted for the group with abnormal results. On the other hand, a 12-lead electrocardiogram measures electrical activity over a very short period of time. It’s just one quick snapshot of the heart, therefore, episodic atrial fibrillation can occur outside that quick peek.