Apple Tipped To Integrate EKG Heart Monitor Into Next Gen Apple Watch

There has been a lot of talk recently about Apple trying to move the Apple Watch from simply being a fashion wearable to a legitimate medical device with the integration of heart monitoring features. The KardiaBand heart EKG accessory is already available and FDA approved to allow at-risk people to accurately monitor their heart. Sources are now saying that Apple is working on its own EKG heart monitor tech that will be integrated directly into the watch.

This could have a massive impact on these third-party accessories like the KardiaBand. Sources claim that one version in testing now requires the wearer to squeeze the frame of the Apple Watch with two fingers from the hand not wearing the watch.

When that action is performed, a current that the user can’t feel is passed across the chest of the person to track electrical signals in the heart and is able to detect any heart abnormalities. Irregular heart rates and arrhythmias can increase the risk of stroke and heart failure. Such heart conditions develop in about 25% of people over the age of 40 says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An Apple Watch with integrated EKG technology could mean that people at risk can monitor their hearts anywhere and anytime.

The sources did point out that the development process is ongoing, and that Apple could opt to not include the tech. If the accessories turn out to be popular and useful, you can bet Apple will want to add its own functionality. "I can see a role for wearable ECGs as a mechanism to diagnose arrhythmia as an adjunct to what is currently available," said Ethan Weiss, a cardiologist at the University of California, San Francisco.