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How scientific are Apple’s health and fitness features?

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Putting Apple's health & fitness features under a microscope
Let's put Apple's health and fitness features under a microscope.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac/Rouibi Dhia Eddine Nadjm*

In a recent report, Apple outlined the “rigorous scientific validation processes” used to develop the health and fitness features baked into its products.

Wearables like Apple Watch monitor our bodies around the clock, providing health insights in real time. That’s a new and unprecedented development in medical technology. The benefits are already clear, as the report illustrates, with anecdotes about how Apple Watch has saved lives.

But anecdotal evidence is not the same as scientific research. By cherry-picking the best outcomes, anecdotes risk overlooking the bigger picture. Scientists must look at all the outcomes, not just the good ones. With that in mind, I took a closer look at the scientific studies cited in Apple’s report, to find out what they tell us about the impact Apple Watch is having on our health.

Woman with deadly, hidden tumor saved by Apple Watch

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Apple Watch keeps saving people's lives.
Apple Watch keeps saving people's lives.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

In recent years Apple Watch has shown itself to be a lifesaver, either by calling for help when a person’s incapacitated or by offering health readings that lead a person to see a doctor.

In the latter category it just happened again. A woman in Maine didn’t believe what the wearable was telling her at first. But going to the ER led to open-heart surgery that saved her from a probable fatal stroke.

Apple Watch owner alerted of irregular heart rhythms in her sleep

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Apple Watch alerts user of irregular heart rhythms in sleep
Apple Watch is proving to be a wonder of modern health care.
Photo: Apple

A Kentucky woman says her Apple Watch detected atrial fibrillation, aka irregular heart rhythms, while she slept.

Rosemary Stiles told local newscaster WHAS11 that she had been feeling unusually tired and rundown. But she had no idea that this could potentially be a sign of something more serious.

Apple Watch may have saved the life of a 79-year-old with heart condition

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Apple Watch may have saved the life of a 79-year-old with heart condition
Apple Watch may have saved yet another life.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

A Central Texas man says that his Apple Watch saved his life by detecting a serious heart condition.

A veterinarian by training, Dr. Ray Emerson said that, despite routinely listening to animals’ heart beats, he was caught unaware when his own heart beat registered as unusual. “The watch dinged me,” he told CBS Austin. “I looked down and it said you are in atrial fibrillation.”

New Apple Watch videos highlight fall detection and heart notifications

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Fall detection ad from Apple
Fall detection could be a lifesaver for some Apple Watch wearers.
Photo: Apple

Apple came out with two new how-to videos for the Apple Watch today, showing customers how to take advantage of some of the new features introduced last year.

The two videos cover how to turn on heart health notifications and fall detection. Each video is only 30 seconds long and shows how to activate each feature in just three or four easy steps.

Watch them both right here:

Apple Watch’s amazing ECG app arrives today

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Apple Watch ECG
And it might just save your life!
Photo: Apple

The long-awaited ECG app is almost available on Apple Watch Series 4 (if you live in the U.S.) with watchOS 5.1.2.

It is the first wearable of its kind to offer this functionality, which promises to help uses detect atrial fibrillation — the most common form or irregular rhythm. Irregular heart rhythm notifications have also landed on Series 1 devices and later.

Apple Watch can detect serious heart problem

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Apple Watch alerts user of irregular heart rhythms in sleep
Apple Watch alerts user of irregular heart rhythms in sleep
Photo: Apple

Apple Watch can accurately detect atrial fibrillation, a serious heart condition that is a leading cause of stroke.

This advanced feature remains in testing. However, a new medical study offers proof that wearables can do far more than simply track fitness. In fact, they could actually keep the wearer alive.

Apple Watch just got way better at spotting heart problems

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heart
This is one app you may want to download.
Photo: Apple

The Apple Watch just got a whole lot more indispensable! Today, two major heart-related developments mean Apple’s wearable device could one day save your life.

Firstly, Apple teamed up with Stanford Medicine to launch an Apple Watch heart app that looks for deadly atrial fibrillation. It alerts users when they experience irregular heart rhythms, and can actually get them help.

Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration finally approved AliveCor’s Kardiaband EKG reader. It’s the first medical device accessory for the Apple Watch.