Heart rate monitors come with built-in sensors to help detect and track heart or pulse rate continuously.
US researchers on Monday announced a new wearable,
long-term continuous heart monitor that is likely to identify more cases of
irregular heart rhythm—also known as atrial fibrillation linked to the risk of
stroke and heart failure—compared to usual care.
However, the heart monitors did not lead to a
reduction in hospitalisations due to stroke, said the team at the Duke Clinical
Research Institute in North Carolina, US.
“Atrial fibrillation is often undiagnosed and can
increase the risk of ischemic stroke, which is largely reversible by oral
anticoagulation,” said lead author Renato Lopes, Professor of Medicine at the
Institute.
“We still need definitive evidence that diagnosis of
atrial fibrillation through systematic screening can lead to subsequent
treatment with oral anticoagulation and therefore, lower stroke risk,” Lopes
said.
The study, published in the Journal of the American
College of Cardiology, enrolled approximately 12,000 patients in the US who
were at least 70 years old with no history of atrial fibrillation.
About half the patients were randomly assigned to
receive 14 days continuous monitoring device, and the other half usual care.
After 15 months of follow-up, the study reported a 52
per cent increase in the number of cases of atrial fibrillation diagnosed among
the device-wearers compared to those in usual care.
While there was no increase in rates of
hospitalisation for bleeding, no significant reduction was found in the rate of
hospitalisations for all strokes compared with usual care.
Heart rate monitors are devices that come with
built-in sensors to help detect and track heart or pulse rate continuously.
The devices are also available in smartwatches and
help in tracking heart rate during exercise, monitoring heart rate for stress,
and alerting in case of an anomaly. But these cannot be substitutes for medical
devices that are much more accurate.
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