Researchers develop a new scale that uses smart watches to measure heart health

Researchers from the American University of North Western have developed a new scale that uses smart watches to measure heart health, and rely on the rate of strikes for each step. The researchers said that this standard could be a more accurate indication of heart health compared to the number of daily steps or heartbeats alone. The study indicated that the distribution of the daily heartbeat over the number of daily steps gives a deeper view of how the heart responds to the physical effort, which is more indicative than measuring the heart rate or the number of steps separately. The researchers pointed out that this discovery can change the way to determine the risk of heart disease using smart watches, providing a new way to more easily monitor heart health, and without the necessary tests. “The scope we developed focuses on how the heart responds to exercises instead of measuring physical activity in itself. It is a more accurate way because it reflects the heart’s ability to adapt to the daily effort,” said the lead author of the study, Zanlin Chen, a researcher at the University of North West Medical College. Identifying heart disease The heart disease is the first cause of deaths around the world, and despite the availability of preventive tests, many people are not subject to it regularly. Researchers’ use of data collected by smart watches can also contribute to identifying people who are at risk of heart disease, and encourage them to consult doctors to take the necessary preventative measures. To do the research, the researchers analyzed the data of about 7,000 people in the United States, who participated in their smart watches and their electronic health records through the All of SU program supported by the National Health Institutes. The data included 5.8 million personal days and 51 billion steps, giving researchers a wide vision on the relationship between the heartbeat for each step and heart health. The study showed that people who have a high heart rate for each step were more ill to develop chronic illnesses, as they were found to be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes at a double pace compared to others, and the possibility of their heart failure by about 70%, high blood pressure by 60%, and coronary atherosclerosis. However, the study found no relationship between this indicator and the risk of strokes or heart attacks. An indication of the need for investigation and the study warned that the heartbeat for each step could become an early indication of people who need additional heart tests, or programs to improve heart health. Due to the ease of his account, individuals can calculate the average use of their smart watches manually, or integrate them into future fitness and health applications. Despite encouraging results, the researchers confirmed that this study only represents the beginning of the development of this new scale as they could not determine the timing of data collection, compared to the date of diagnosing heart disease. In order to improve the accuracy of the results, researchers plan to conduct more detailed studies over a longer period, which helps to understand the relationship between this indicator and the development of heart disease. The researchers seek to improve the accuracy of the analysis by detecting data at the level of minutes, rather than relying on the daily average. In the future, this scale can be combined within the standard medical assessments of the risk of heart disease to become part of routine tests.