Apple Heart Study winds down ahead of January completion date

Posted:
in Apple Watch edited September 2018
A number of early participants in the Apple Heart Study received messages this weekend saying that their contributions to the program are complete.

Apple Heart Study


In November of 2017, during the Apple Watch Series 3 release event, Apple announced the Apple Heart Study. The groundbreaking study, conducted in conjunction with Stanford Health, was designed to determine whether heart rate data collected from Apple Watch can be used to identify irregular heart rhythms and conditions like atrial fibrillation.

Earlier this month, Apple announced that it was closing enrollment for the study, and on Sept. 1, many participants received in-app notifications that the program was complete.

"Thank you for participating in the Apple Heart Study," read the notification received by one AppleInsider staffer. It went on to list his number of heart data rhythm contributions, as well as number of days in the study. Numerous Twitter users posted screenshots of similar messages on Saturday.

Along with the notification, participants were asked to take part in a survey from Stanford Health, with questions ranging from general health queries to whether users would be interested in "continuing to use the Apple Heart Study App to monitor your pulse for irregularities." The latter suggests Apple is considering keeping the app, which includes a mechanism to notify owners of detected irregularities, live following the study's conclusion as a value-added Apple Watch feature.

Apple had earlier announced the end date for the study as Jan. 31, 2019. It is unclear if the September announcement marks a study-wide change, though Apple and Stanford Health are likely closing the window for data contributions in stages, as the notifications appear to be going out to those participants who were among the first to sign up. While not confirmed, the Apple Heart Study might continue to collect data from Apple Watch owners whose data warrants further study.

Since its inception, the study has coincided with several news stories in which the Apple Watch has saved the lives of users by informing them in time of potential heart conditions and other maladies.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    I was notified and took the survey. 

    During my participation I noticed that my contributions increased dramatically faster when I wore my Apple Watch while sleeping. In turn, I started wearing my AW overnight much more frequently figuring more contributions were likely to better than fewer. 

    I’m hoping we’ll hear about what sort of results came from the study. 
  • Reply 2 of 11
    Got the notification and survey yesterday. Are there any alternative apps that do the heart monitoring and notification if it detects a problem?
  • Reply 3 of 11
    bulk001 said:
    Got the notification and survey yesterday. Are there any alternative apps that do the heart monitoring and notification if it detects a problem?
    My Watch and stock Health app have already notified me of an irregular heartbeat on a couple occasions. It takes a while for the combo to figure out what your normal range is. When it detects something way out of the parameters, it sends an alert.
    GeorgeBMaccaladanian
  • Reply 4 of 11
    bulk001 said:
    Got the notification and survey yesterday. Are there any alternative apps that do the heart monitoring and notification if it detects a problem?
    It's still early days as far as these devices giving what would constitute medical advice; but, besides what Apple provides with the watch/watchOS itself, you might want to keep an eye on what https://cardiogr.am/ is doing.

    I also use these:
    https://health.nokia.com/us/en/health-mate 
    http://heartwatch.tantsissa.com/
    caladanian
  • Reply 5 of 11
    Received the completion survey as well. I did get three notifications of unusual heart rate increase while still; so that feature seems invaluable in my opinion. (I had no need to panic though as I was playing chess in the park when those notifications happened) who knew my heart could get a workout from chess stress?
  • Reply 6 of 11
    larryjwlarryjw Posts: 1,031member
    Got my study completed notice this morning. 

    197 days in the study, 1291 data point sets. 

    I hope the study reports back to us. They now know something about each of us in the study and an analysis can be done on the data collected. It only seems fair. 
  • Reply 7 of 11
    I had seven alerts from my Apple Watch and I was diagnosed with episodes of extreme tachycardia. So it does help, my cardiologist said the history graphs I could show them of my daily heart beat gave them a very clear picture of what my heart is doing and when. I then had to wear a portable ecg machine for 48 hours. This confirmed what they had seen from the watch data. I have used a Polar and Microsoft watch before, and even though they showed my heartrate, they never allerted me of any posable problems. I am also taking part in the Cardiogram program.
    svanstrom
  • Reply 8 of 11
    Would love to get results of my personal tracking for my own curiosity. There were several notifications about abnormalities and Id love to follow up on these, but Im left in the dark as to what they found abnormal. Please send us more indepth info regarding your findings. 
  • Reply 9 of 11
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,350member
    I also got my 'notification', maybe the day before yesterday. It was in the Heart Study app, and not an email or typical notification. It was disappointing to see it end, but it was another nice 'thank you for your service' moment. Of course, if I had got a notification from the study app, it would have definitely affected my heart rate! LOL

    I took the survey and noticed a question about would I want to continue the tracking or similar, outside of the study. I wonder if that means the app would continue to monitor and alert me to a potential problem, even though I'm not in the study anymore. I said yes, but don't now what that portends, if anything.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    Data from completed clinical trials is published (eventually) at clinical trials.gov.  Search the site for Apple Heart Study for information about the study.  You can also search for "apple watch" from time to time to learn about other clinical trials involving the watch.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,036member
    Got my notification over the weekend.

    I am hoping that Apple will retain the app in some fashion. I do not have a-fib, but have Autoimmune Thyroiditis and take Synthroid because of that condition. People with that condition can develop A-Fib, so having it monitored is a nice thing to have.

    There are quite a few studies going in with the watch. Apple is apparently trying to develop a way to monitor blood glucose with the optical sensors and if they can make it work, that will be a game changer. Diabetes is a massive problem and getting worse worldwide.
    edited September 2018
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