Even though many users are still very sceptical about the Apple Watch, perceiving it more as a device for receiving notifications, in fact, it is an extremely promising device. Without suspecting it, the company has created an extremely advanced gadget capable of acting as a means of functional diagnostics, detecting diseases and allowing all kinds of tests to be carried out to determine the user’s health. And all these thanks to only one heart rate monitor, which is even in the very first watch model.
Researchers at Stanford University have found that Apple Watch can conduct exercise tests in people suffering from heart failure. In a clinical setting, these tests are performed as part of the 6-minute walk test, which measures how a patient can walk in six minutes.
Why the 6-minute walk test is needed
To do this, he walks for 6 minutes at the maximum pace at which he can only walk. Based on the distance travelled, a conclusion is made about the functional class of heart failure. But under normal conditions, only the distance travelled is tracked, and the Apple Watch also records the state of the body, taking measurements more accurately.
What does it mean? And the fact that in a clinical setting, the patient is required to walk, and no one takes into account his physical condition. He is allowed to stop if he is tired or suffers from shortness of breath, but the pause will be taken into account in the final measurement. Apple Watch allows you to simultaneously record steps and monitor the condition of the heart muscle.
An Apple Watch Series 3 with watchOS 7 installed was used to measure physical activity indicators. The fact is that only the current version of the OS supports the 6-minute walk test. You can do it too, but keep in mind that it is hidden in the Health app’s respiratory section.
Apple Watch for heart failure
However, Stanford University scientists needed more. Therefore, they also used the VascTrac application, which in passive mode collected data on the user’s physical activity and, most importantly, on the number of steps. That is, the application, before sending the data to the doctor, knew about the speed with which the user can walk after the fact and does not mess around during the test.
Research has shown that the Apple Watch can measure the 6-minute walk test with an accuracy of 90%. This is a fairly high indicator that allows you to use smartwatches as a functional diagnostic tool remotely. No, imagine that now the patient does not need to go to the hospital, and all tests can be done at home. The doctor will only have to check the result with the existing list of exercise tests and assign the patient a suitable class.
In general, the benefits of a 6-minute test and the possibility of remote testing may seem too far-fetched. Still, people who do not suffer from heart failure have little idea why physical activity classes and, in fact, the test itself are needed at all. However, thanks to them, the patient can keep himself in good shape and monitor whether his indicators decrease. After all, this will mean that he needs to resume training if he wants to continue to lead an active lifestyle and not die of shortness of breath, going up the stairs to the third floor.