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The Apple Watch EKG, gadget or real medical breakthrough?

Available until then in the United States, the ECG function integrated into Apple's latest connected watch model was introduced in France on March 27, 2019. But is it as promising as the brand claimed at the time of its launch? ?

In September 2018, at the annual presentation of its new products - iPhone headliner - tech giant Apple was determined to prove that it was now more than just a maker of expensive gadgets. And it was notably through his connected watch, the Apple Watch, that he announced that he wanted to conquer a sector as buoyant as it is complex: that of health. "I really believe that, in the future, it will be said that Apple's most important contribution to humanity will have been in health," Tim Cook, its president, assured CNBC cameras a few weeks later.

Admittedly, the firm already set foot in this market several years ago, notably by launching ResearchKit and CareKit, open-source platforms for creating medical applications. But it is probably with its latest watch model, the Apple Watch Series 4, that it intends to establish itself as the world leader in connected health. Now, the little touchscreen watch is not only able to detect falls, but also to monitor our heart, thanks to the addition of new sensors that allow an EKG to be performed directly from our wrist.

An "event recorder"

Because it relies only on two electrodes - one under the watch, in contact with the skin, the other on the dial, on which the finger will press continuously to "close the circuit" -, the Apple's ECG is very different from an electrocardiogram performed in a medical facility. "In a cardiologist or in a hospital, the electrocardiographs are composed of 12 leads (measuring points, Editor's note). The one provided by the watch only presents one, the ID, which does not allow the detection of a heart attack. myocardium or another serious cardiac anomaly ", explains Dr Antoine Leenhardt, cardiologist-rhythmologist at Bichat hospital, in Paris, and to whom Apple had the device tested a few days before its French release (Dr Leenhardt assures us that he did not have received no financial contribution from Apple for this test).

However, he considers Apple's tool to be very promising, especially for its ability to make spontaneous diagnoses. "As it is integrated into a watch, it has the immense advantage of being able to instantly record an event that a patient considers worthy of interest: palpitations, a twinge of the heart or any other sensation felt at a given and unforeseeable moment. Rare thing during a consultation. "

The user only needs to press the dial for 30 seconds, with the arm at rest, when the symptom appears. Once the examination has been carried out, the result is displayed instantly: the heart rate is qualified as sinus (normal), shows atrial fibrillation, or is intended to be "inconclusive" (the recording cannot be classified and needs to be reiterated). The trace obtained can then be saved or directly transmitted to his doctor for interpretation. A point on which Apple could not be clearer: its ECG application displays the heart rate, analyzes it to detect possible atrial fibrillation, but in no way gives a diagnosis. "Keep the following points in mind: it cannot detect a heart attack, clots or stroke, or other cardiovascular pathologies," reads the preamble once the application is opened. In case of a watch alert or anything in doubt, Apple advises us instead to rush to a doctor.