The Apple Watch ECG feature is designed to help provide users with a more detailed look at their heart and whether or not there are abnormalities in its rhythm, which can sometimes indicate that something is wrong. In fact last year we heard the first instance of how the Apple Watch’s ECG feature saved its first life.Now you would think that such a feature would be met with praise and endorsements by doctors, but apparently not everyone feels this way. According to a report from The Verge (via 9to5Mac), they did some research of their own where they spoke to various health professionals to get their thoughts on the feature.
One of those people that they spoke with is Dr. Gregory Marcus at UCSF who suggested that not everyone should use the ECG app. “If someone is younger than age 65, they don’t have high blood pressure, diabetes, they’ve never had a stroke, they don’t have heart failure, they don’t have other problems with their arteries, in general I would say ignore it [Apple Watch ECG] in the absence of symptoms.”
Dr. Seth Landefeld of the University of Alabama at Birmingham also seems to be in agreement where he said, “There’s no evidence there that the benefits outweigh the harms, and, so therefore we recommend against using the ECG screening for people at low-risk for cardiovascular disease.” Interestingly enough these two aren’t alone in their assessments. Previously there was another doctor who reported that the feature was sending plenty of his patients into a panic, where he stated that Apple should have released the feature in a more responsible manner.
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