Smart watches could predict higher risk of heart failure

Date:
April 3, 2023
Source:
University College London
Summary:
A study looked at data from 83,000 people who had undergone a
15-second electrocardiogram (ECG) comparable to the kind carried out
using smart watches and phone devices. The researchers identified
ECG recordings containing extra heart beats which are usually benign
but, if they occur frequently, are linked to conditions such as
heart failure and arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats). They found
that people with an extra beat in this short recording (one in 25
of the total) had a twofold risk of developing heart failure or an
irregular heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation) over the next 10 years.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Wearable devices such as smart watches could be used to detect a higher
risk of developing heart failure and irregular heart rhythms in later
life, suggests a new study led by UCL researchers.


==========================================================================
The peer-reviewed study, published in The European Heart Journal --
Digital Health, looked at data from 83,000 people who had undergone a
15-second electrocardiogram (ECG) comparable to the kind carried out
using smart watches and phone devices.

The researchers identified ECG recordings containing extra heart beats
which are usually benign but, if they occur frequently, are linked to conditions such as heart failure and arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats).

They found that people with an extra beat in this short recording (one
in 25 of the total) had a twofold risk of developing heart failure or
an irregular heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation) over the next 10 years.

The ECG recordings analysed were from people aged 50 to 70 who had no
known cardiovascular disease at the time.

Heart failure is a situation where the heart pump is weakened. It cannot
often be treated. Atrial fibrillation happens when abnormal electrical
impulses suddenly start firing in the top chambers of the heart (atria)
causing an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate. It can be life-limiting, causing problems including dizziness, shortness of breath
and tiredness, and is linked to a fivefold increased risk in stroke.

Lead author Dr Michele Orini (UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science)
said: "Our study suggests that ECGs from consumer-grade wearable devices
may help with detecting and preventing future heart disease.

"The next step is to investigate how screening people using wearables
might best work in practice.

"Such screening could potentially be combined with the use of artificial intelligence and other computer tools to quickly identify the ECGs
indicating higher risk, as we did in our study, leading to a more accurate assessment of risk in the population and helping to reduce the burden of
these diseases." Senior author Professor Pier D. Lambiase (UCL Institute
of Cardiovascular Science and Barts Heart Centre, Barts NHS Health
Trust) said: "Being able to identify people at risk of heart failure
and arrhythmia at an early stage would mean we could assess higher-risk
cases more effectively and help to prevent cases by starting treatment
early and providing lifestyle advice about the importance of regular,
moderate exercise and diet." In an ECG, sensors attached to the skin are
used to detect the electrical signals produced by the heart each time it
beats. In clinical settings, at least 10 sensors are placed around the
body and the recordings are looked at by a specialist doctor to see if
there are signs of a possible problem. Consumer- grade wearable devices
rely on two sensors (single-lead) embedded in a single device and are
less cumbersome as a result but may be less accurate.

For the new paper, the research team used machine learning and an
automated computer tool to identify recordings with extra beats. These
extra beats were classed as either premature ventricular contractions
(PVCs), coming from the lower chambers of the heart, or premature atrial contractions (PACs), coming from the upper chambers.

The recordings identified as having extra beats, and some recordings
that were not judged to have extra beats, were then reviewed by two
experts to ensure the classification was correct.

The researchers first looked at data from 54,016 participants of the UK
Biobank project with a median age of 58, whose health was tracked for an average of 11.5 years after their ECG was recorded. They then looked at
a second group of 29,324 participants, with a median age of 64, who were followed up for 3.5 years.

After adjusting for potentially confounding factors such as age and
medication use, the researchers found that an extra beat coming from
the lower chambers of the heart was linked to a twofold increase in
later heart failure, while an extra beat from the top chambers (atria)
was linked to a twofold increase in cases of atrial fibrillation.

The study involved researchers at UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science,
the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Barts Heart Centre
(Barts Health NHS Trust) and Queen Mary University of London. It
was supported by the Medical Research Council and the British Heart
Foundation, as well as the NIHR Barts Biomedical Research Centre.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Health_&_Medicine
# Heart_Disease # Stroke_Prevention # Vioxx # Cholesterol
o Computers_&_Math
# Mobile_Computing # Computers_and_Internet #
Computer_Science # Information_Technology
* RELATED_TERMS
o Defibrillation o Heart_rate o Electrocardiogram o
Heart_failure o Artificial_heart o Coronary_heart_disease o
Ischaemic_heart_disease o CPR

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_College_London. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Michele Orini, Stefan van Duijvenboden, William J Young, Julia
Rami'rez,
Aled R Jones, Andrew Tinker, Patricia B Munroe, Pier D Lambiase.

Premature atrial and ventricular contractions detected on
wearable-format electrocardiograms and prediction of cardiovascular
events. European Heart Journal - Digital Health, 2023; 4 (2):
112 DOI: 10.1093/ehjdh/ ztad007 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230403133452.htm

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