Oliver Johnson
In smart wearables like the Apple Watch or Garmin trackers for celebrity sport Oura Ring and modern WHOOP Bracelethealth technology has come a long way from just tracking your steps.
“There are a lot of different metrics now that we can start to look at,” says Dr. Davin Lundquist, family physician and chief medical officer at Augmedix. “Whenever we can be more aware of our health and pay attention to it, this tends to influence behavior in a positive way.”
Here are four that doctors say may be helpful to monitor:
To sleep
Most healthy adults can benefit to some extent from sleep monitoring, says Dr. Carlos M. Nunez, chief medical officer at medical device company ResMed.
“Many users are not tracking the right information and may end up fixating or misinterpreting data rather than observing the broader trends that trackers can help indicate,” says Nunez. “Users should start by monitoring their sleep-wake cycle to establish a consistent sleep routine. quality sleepwhich research has shown can lead to better concentration, increased productivity and overall more positive feeling.”
Heart rate
Monitoring your heart rate can give you a picture of your heart health. The lower your resting heart rate is within reason, the healthier your heart will be, explains Lundquist.
“If you are doing more aerobic exercise, over time your resting heart rate should decrease. And that would be an indication that your heart is getting healthier,” he says.
Respiratory frequency
“Certain devices can also provide information on potential key health indicators – such as respiratory rate, activity level and more,” says Nunez. “For some users, the data can also indicate how their body is responding to stress.”
Respiratory rate is a metric that can also alert someone to other health issues. This is something that Michael Snyder, a professor at Stanford School of Medicine who has studied smartwatches, experienced firsthand after coming across COVID-19. Although he took a COVID test that came back negative, his own research app alerted him to sudden changes in his breathing and heart rate.
“I listened to my COVID test and I should have listened to my smartwatch,” he told CBS News in a 2022 interview.
Heart rate
Tracking metrics like heart rate can help alert patients to bigger problems.
“I had a patient whose Apple Watch told them he had atrial fibrillation,” Lundquist said. “We took this person to a cardiologist – sure enough, it was confirmed and the patient was treated appropriately.”
“Afib (atrial fibrillation) is a big problem,” cardiologist Dr. Tara Narula told “CBS Mornings” in 2018 as Apple rolled out electrocardiogram technology in its smartwatches to help detect heart problems. “It affects millions of Americans, increases hospitalization rates (and) increases death and heart failure.”
It also increases the risk of potentially debilitating strokes fivefold, she added.
“The problem with atrial fibrillation is that it can be asymptomatic, so you can walk around and not know you have it, while being at greater risk for stroke,” she explained, noting that a tracking device could help empower doctors. patients, but it could also lead to false alarms: “Anxiety, false positives, flooding doctors’ offices with calls. There are definitely downsides, but I think this has the potential to be really, really useful in the future,”
How accurate is the data?
Health trackers have come a long way, doctors say, but you shouldn’t rely on these devices for 100% accuracy or diagnosis. The FDA specifically cautioned against any device that claims measure blood sugar without needles, as inaccuracies can lead to serious health consequences.
For other types of tracking, “the accuracy of some smartwatches is still a bit questionable, although with each generation they are improving. So I think, overall, doctors are becoming more confident in trusting these devices,” says Lundquist. . Furthermore, as he points out, users also need to take the device off to charge, which means that data will not be recorded 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
While trackers can be a “valuable tool for many,” Nunez says the data should not be used to diagnose serious sleep or health problems.
“Ultimately, sleep monitoring devices can help empower users to set and achieve health goals, but they are not a substitute for formal diagnosis or professional medical care,” he says.
They can also help doctors partner with their patients, says Lundquist.
“As these apps become more popular, the ability to show up at your doctor’s appointment, pick up your phone, and show your metrics would be a great way for us to partner with our patients and help them see where there are potential opportunities or problems,” he says.
