Arrhythmias & electrophysiology
Physician responses to apple watch-detected irregular rhythm alerts
Authors' conclusion
In hypothetical cases of patients presenting without clinical symptoms, physicians opted for further diagnostic testing and often to medical intervention based on Apple Watch irregular rhythm notifications. There was also considerable variation across physician specialties
Study context
- Population
- Physicians at Yale and UCSF managing hypothetical asymptomatic patients with Apple Watch atrial fibrillation (AF) alerts, Sept–Dec 2021636 emailed
- Participants
- 95 physicians
- Exposure
- Primary care vs emergency medicine vs cardiology physicians
- Primary caren = 39
- Emergency medicinen = 25
- Cardiologyn = 31
- Outcome
- Physician responses among prespecified diagnostic testing, referral and treatment options
Methodological detailscase-based survey, 2 academic centres
- Case-based survey
- 2 academic centres
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Management of Apple Watch AF alerts
Referral
P = 0.048
Rhythm monitoring
P < 0.001
BNP
P = 0.003
Antiarrhythmics
P = 0.023
- ≥1 diagnostic test selected (cases)
- 191 (99.5%)
- Medications selected (cases)
- 48 (25.0%)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Practices by patient sex, race, clinical complexity and alert frequency
- Few physician differences
Original publication
Physician responses to apple watch-detected irregular rhythm alerts. Am Heart J. Published 20 April 2023. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →