The new ways that the Apple Watch alerts users to health issues they didn't even know they had are amazing. Although the health clock is multi-functional and incorporates sensors that take care of more than one thing, it is mostly focused on detecting heart-related conditions.
Apple markets them as predictors of specific problems such as atrial fibrillation. The good news is that the irregular heart rate notifications and ECG features that were introduced with the Apple Watch 4 in 2017, have proven to be remarkably accurate in detecting this potentially life-threatening condition, something that can go undetected for years due to its intermittent nature.
We've heard more than one story about how the Apple Watch detects illnesses and causes them to come to the rescue in time, but since the heart can be at the heart of so many other health issues, it's also not uncommon for the Apple Watch to alert users to seek care for unimportant conditions. Link.
This was recently the case with a female nursing student in Australia who found that her Apple Watch had detected hypothyroidism months before she was actually diagnosed.
As shared by AppleInsider, nursing student Lauren posted a TikTok video on February 2, in which she encourages viewers to enable heart rate notifications, after discovering that her Apple Watch had already recorded evidence of her thyroid condition several months ago. .
Lauren said she was diagnosed with a thyroid disease a few weeks ago, but because those notifications are not enabled, she missed the time to deal early with the disease.
After the diagnosis, Lauren looked at a history of her cardiovascular readings, as recorded on the Health app, and noticed a significant decrease in her levels of cardio fitness and maximal oxygen consumption, which is VO2 max. She said:
What I was looking at was my oxygen consumption, which had dropped dramatically, which means my cardiovascular system isn't working as well as before, which correlates with when all of my other symptoms started like fatigue, irregular heartbeat, and extreme sensitivity to heat. Weight gain, dry skin, irritability, etc.
As Lauren explains by sharing a screenshot of her Health app, VO2 Max dropped sharply, by more than 10 points, in early October, and remained in the red, below 29, for the next several months. Not surprisingly, this lined up with other symptoms that eventually led to a diagnosis of thyroid thrombosis in December.
early warning signs
Lauren is quite confident that if she had been alerted to these low readings when they first occurred, she would have sought treatment much sooner.
In the Health app, Lauren showed settings that enable alerts for low and high heart rates, irregular heartbeats, and cardio fitness levels, and recommends users to turn them on.
While high and low heart notifications have been saving lives since the advent of the first generation of Apple Watch, heart fitness monitoring only became prominent about a year ago in watchOS 7.2.
This important metric, known as VO2 max, measures the amount of oxygen you take in during exercise, providing a key indicator of your cardio and respiratory fitness.
Apple Watch always gave a rough estimate of VO2 max during workouts, but it wasn't accurate enough before watchOS 7.2, but then Apple greatly improved the algorithms to provide a more reliable fitness index. Meanwhile, Apple added new alerts in the Health app in the iOS 14 update that can let you know when something is out of control. It even expanded this in iOS 15 to allow you to share this information with your loved ones.
As Lauren notes, it's important not to overreact if your Apple Watch alerts you that there is a problem, but it's also a good indication to go to your doctor or health care professional, especially if it's accompanied by other symptoms. She said:
Sure, the Apple Watch isn't something you should follow as medical advice, but it can be useful as a tool to prompt you to go to the doctor and investigate further.
For example, there are many reasons why you might notice an elevated heart rate, such as drinking too much coffee and even eating a heavy meal. Hence, an occasional notice is not necessarily a sufficient reason to rush into a doctor's visit. However, if you receive such notices often, or they are accompanied by other symptoms, it is a good indication that you should get a medical examination.
Finally, it should also be noted that VO2 Max levels are only measured during active walking and running exercises. Here's how Apple describes the feature:
Apple Watch 3 or later can record an estimate of VO2 max using its heart and motion sensors while you're walking outdoors, running, or hiking. It can also estimate your VO2 max if you start walking outdoors, running or hiking in the Workout app. The Apple Watch supports a maximum VO2 range of 14-60ml/kg/min which has been validated for users 20 years of age or older.
Apple also adds that "it may take at least 24 hours to wear the Apple Watch, followed by several exercises and passive measurements with the watch, before you receive an initial estimate."
How to turn on Cardio Fitness notifications
If you own an Apple Watch, you should already be prompted to enable Cardio Fitness notifications sometime after upgrading to iOS 14.2 and watchOS 7.2. And if you missed it, here's how to turn it on manually:
◉ On your iPhone, open the Health app.
◉ Click on the Browse button at the bottom.
◉ Click on the Heart.
◉ Tap on Cardio Fitness.
◉ Tap Setup.
◉ Click Next.
◉ Confirm or update your personal information.
◉ Click Next and then read the screens that explain what Cardio Fitness is and how it works.
◉ Click Next.
◉ Tap to turn on notifications.
◉ Then tap Done.
Once enabled, you'll receive a notification when your Apple Watch detects that your cardio fitness level is low for your age and gender, and you'll continue to receive notifications for as long as it remains low. Apple also notes that you must be at least 20 years old to enable these notifications.
You can also view your cardio fitness data manually at any time by going to the iPhone Health app and selecting Browse > Heart > Cardio Fitness.
Source:
9 comment