New UHN study explores how Apple Watch can help ID early heart failure

As part of the University Health Network (UHN), cardiologist Dr. Heather Ross has launched a new clinical study, in collaboration with Apple to test if remote monitoring with the Apple Watch can help with early identification of worsening heart failure, reports NewsWise.

In this study, data collected using an Apple Watch will be compared to data routinely collected from the rigorous physical tests that patients normally undergo, to see if Apple Watch health sensors and features, including the Blood Oxygen app and mobility metrics, can provide early warning for worsening heart failure.

Suitable patients from the heart function program at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, will be asked to participate in the three-month, active monitoring study, with each patient using an iPhone and Apple Watch Series 6, and a two-year follow up. 

The study will investigate the ability of patients to perform traditionally clinic-based assessments in the comfort of their home. All study participant data collected during the study will be stored in an encrypted form, and participants have the ability to opt-out of the study at any time. 

“We think that biometric data derived from Apple Watch may provide comparable, precise, and accurate measurements of fitness, prognostic markers and early warning signals, compared to traditional diagnostics,” says Dr. Heather Ross, Division Head of Cardiology, at UHN’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, Scientific Lead, Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, and this study’s lead researcher. Combining this new technology with expertise in biomedical science, and leveraging the existing Peter Munk Digital Cardiovascular Health Platform for 8,000 heart failure patients already followed by UHN, should give patients and clinicians an exciting new opportunity to gain more precise, in the moment assessments of heart health.    

The University Health Network is a public research and teaching hospital network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It’s the largest health research organization in North America and ranks first in Canada for total research funding.