The skeptical cardiologist is a firm believer in the benefit of maintaining normal rhythm in most patients who develop atrial fibrillation (AF, see here.) Sometimes this can be accomplished by lifestyle changes (losing pounds and cutting back on alcohol , treating sleep apnea, etc.) but more often successful long term maintenance of normal rhythm (NSR) […]
Author Archives: Dr. AnthonyP
A Guide To Using Apple Watch and Kardia ECG devices-What They Can and Can’t Do
Many patients (and perhaps physicians) are confused as to how best to utilize personal ECG devices. I received this question illustrating such confusion from a reader recently: I first came across your website a year ago during persistent angina attacks, and returning now due to increasing episodes of symptoms akin to Afib. I bought a […]
Can The Apple Watch Or Kardia ECG Monitor Detect Heart Attacks?
The skeptical cardiologist recently received this email from a reader: With the new Apple Watch that’s out now, people have suggested my husband (who had a heart attack at 36) should get it since it could detect a heart attack. But I keep remembering what you said – that these devices can’t detect heart attacks […]
Apple Heart Study: Despite The Ballyhoo, No Benefits Demonstrated, Harms Not Measured
The results of the Apple Heart Study, were presented this morning at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions amid intense media scrutiny. The AHS is a “prospective, single arm pragmatic study” which had the primary objective of measuring the proportion of participants with an irregular pulse detected by the Apple Watch who turn out […]
Apple Watch Fails To Notify Patient Of 3 Hour Episode Of Rapid Atrial Fibrillation
Apple claims that its Apple Watch can detect atrial fibrillation (AF) and appropriately notify the wearer when it suspects AF. This claim comes with many caveats on their website: Apparently it needs to record 5 instances of irregular heart beat characteristic of atrial fibrillation over at least 65 minutes before making the notification. This feature […]
Putting The Apple Watch 4 ECG To The Test In Atrial Fibrillation: An Informal Comparison To Kardia
My first patient this morning, a delightful tech-savvy septagenarian with persistent atrial fibrillation told me she had been monitoring her rhythm for the last few days using her Apple Watch 4’s built in ECG device. Previously she had been using what I consider the Gold Standard for personal ECG monitoring- AliveCor’s Kardia Mobile ECG […]
Has REDUCE-IT Resurrected Fish OIl Supplements (And Saved Amarin)?
The answers are no and yes. There is still no reason to take over the counter fish oil supplements. In fact, a study published Saturday found that fish oil supplementation (1 g per day as a fish-oil capsule containing 840 mg of n−3 fatty acids, including 460 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and 380 mg of […]
AliveCor’s Mobile ECG With Kardia Pro Is Eliminating Any Need For Short or Long Term Cadiac Monitors For Most of My Afib patients: A Tale of Four Cardioversions
I described in detail in March (see here) my early experience in utilizing AliveCor’s KardiaMobile ECG device in conjunction with their Kardia Pro cloud service to monitor my patient’s with atrial fibrillation (afib). Since that post the majority of my new afib patients have acquired the Kardia device and use it regularly to help us […]
A Review Of The QardioCore ECG Strap From A Patient’s Perspective
One of my patients has been on the cutting edge of personal cardiac monitoring devices and I asked him to share his recent experience with the QardioCore ECG strap. What he sent me is a fascinating description of how the device works (which is unique in this area) along with how it was crucial in […]
Apple’s Alternative Facts And The Giant Watch Restaurant Next Door To AliveCor
As I pointed out Friday, Apple’s claim that the ECG sensor on their new Apple Watch 4 (available “later this year”) is “the First ECG product offered over the counter directly to consumers” is totally bogus. AliveCor’s Kardia mobile ECG device was approved by the FDA for over the counter direct to consumer sales on […]
