Do I need ECG or is it a gimmick?

Lizziejh said:

Thanks. I’m just amazed the ECG can be accurate from a watch on the wrist.
As an older person, it’s probably good to keep a check on my heart.

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You just have to bear in mind that ECG is currently only warning of atrial fibrillation. There's far more a cardiologist can learn from an ECG than that.

As I see it, this is "enabling technology" - once the hardware capability has been installed it opens the door to all sorts of other software-enabled capabilities.

Due to many countries' laws regarding medical diagnostic products, those capabilities have to be thoroughly tested before they can be released to the public. So, the Apple Watch's ability to detect afib and other heart issues is no gimmick - it's just one of the first of many possible uses that has made it all the way through the legal/medical testing and licensing process. There will be more in the future.

Unlike the ECG in the doctor's office, the Watch is with you at all times. Unlike the heart rate monitor you may have in your bedroom, this one is monitoring your heart whenever the Watch is on your wrist. Not only does this mean you can catch potential crises as they occur, but your Watch is also collecting that data continuously - there's a whole lot a physician can learn when being able to view a large, long-term data set compared to what can be collected during a brief office visit.

So is it as accurate? Absolute accuracy isn't really the point. It's like the proverbial tree that falls in the forest. Of course it makes a sound. The trick is being there to hear it. It may not be as accurate or sensitive as a laboratory-grade medical device, but it's certainly good enough to be an early warning system.

You just have to bear in mind that ECG is currently only warning of atrial fibrillation. There's far more a cardiologist can learn from an ECG than that.As I see it, this is "enabling technology" - once the hardware capability has been installed it opens the door to all sorts of other software-enabled capabilities.Due to many countries' laws regarding medical diagnostic products, those capabilities have to be thoroughly tested before they can be released to the public. So, the Apple Watch's ability to detect afib and other heart issues is no gimmick - it's just one of the first of many possible uses that has made it all the way through the legal/medical testing and licensing process. There will be more in the future.Unlike the ECG in the doctor's office, the Watch is with you at all times. Unlike the heart rate monitor you may have in your bedroom, this one is monitoring your heart whenever the Watch is on your wrist. Not only does this mean you can catch potential crises as they occur, but your Watch is also collecting that data continuously - there's a whole lot a physician can learn when being able to view a large, long-term data set compared to what can be collected during a brief office visit.So is it as accurate? Absolute accuracy isn't really the point. It's like the proverbial tree that falls in the forest. Of course it makes a sound. The trick is being there to hear it. It may not be as accurate or sensitive as a laboratory-grade medical device, but it's certainly good enough to be an early warning system.

I accidentally set up my ECG app the very first time choosing that it was on my right wrist. It is actually on my left wrist. My mistake but how to correct it?

 

This "ECG app" question on the tracker is not the general setting question in my account settings regarding wearing on my dominant or non-dominant wrist (for more accurate step-tracking) which I had already set (correctly) as wearing this on my dominant wrist.

 

This "Left or Right" wrist question is within the ECG app, but ONLY the very first time you set it up after going through all the acknowledgments on your phone as required.

 

I feel that this being a new app, there is some reason they ask the question as related to the test. Probably not to do so much with the wrist itself, but with the orientation of which side your thumb will be on and which the forefinger will be on for the sensors. Sounds kind of silly, I know, but the question haunts me since I chose the wrong answer.

 

I chatted with someone at Fitbit who felt it was wanting to know about the dominant vs non-dominant wrist, but that is not the same for all of us so it would be redundant if he was correct, and Fitbit knows better than to consider left as meaning non-dominant in the ECG App.

 

Common sense says if it did not matter what I select, the question of left or right wrist placement would not be there as an app-specific one.

 

So my easiest bandaid is to invert my thumb and forefinger during the 30-second test data gathering period.

My wish would be to find a way to access the question again and correctly answer it as it being worn on my left wrist for testing ECG.

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Performing a full reset on the device and seeing if that would do it seems like shooting a fly with an elephant gun. I am not even sure it would work.

 

In my settings within the Fitbit app, the data deletion area does not offer anything about this app or its settings that can be deleted.

 

I don't think there is a way to temporarily remove the ECG app and add it back. I asked and the CSR just kept getting confused and would not give me a straight answer.

 

Another "maybe" option coming to mind might be clearing cache and data from the Fitbit app in my Android apps settings. Then hope it thinks I am going into the ECG app as if it was the first time.

 

I cannot go back and retake the initial setup acknowledgment questions I answered on the phone the first time through either, nor find a way to revoke permissions of the ECG app in order to have to redo the acknowledgments as if it were the first use of the ECG app.

 

I do not think it matters which arm other than the orientation of which sensor is being contacted by which digit (if it really matters at all). I know I overthink things, but why else would the app care?

I understand the app is currently designed to only ask the very first time, likely presuming you always will use the same wrist (left or right that you selected the first time through).

 

This also may matter if you had changed wrists by the next time you take your ECG test. I hope someone in this app's development team can explain why they ask and therefore what difference it may make in your ECG data analysis.

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