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Dear Tim letters

When the Apple Watch was originally released in 2015, it was pitched as a great watch, an intimate way to communicate, and a comprehensive fitness device. While the original Apple Watch (later renamed Series 0) lacked GPS and was generally a slow device, it has shown dramatic improvements year over year particularly for Apple’s health initiatives.

When Apple released the Series 1 and Series 2 Apple Watches, it added heart rate monitoring for Apple Health. When you enable heart rate monitoring, you  can also turn on heart rate notifications, so you know if your heart rate remains above or below a chosen beats per minute (BPM), or to occasionally check for an irregular heart rhythm. Irregular rhythm notifications are available only with watchOS 5.1.2 or later in certain countries.

With Apple Watch Series 4, Apple added a electrocardiogram monitoring (also known as ECG and EKG). The ECG app on Apple Watch (Series 4 or newer) can record your heartbeat and rhythm using the electrical heart sensor and then check the reading for atrial fibrillation (AFib). It then records that information into the Apple Health app.

Since the release of Apple Watch, there have been countless stories of people’s lives being saved by the health advancements in Apple Watch and Apple’s Health initiatives.

Apple Watch ECG

If you have an Apple Watch Series 4 or newer, here’s a how to guide on how to take an ECG.

Apple also includes a Health app on the iPhone where it easy to learn about your health and start reaching your goals. It consolidates data from iPhone, Apple Watch, and third-party apps in one place.

Top Stories on Apple Health

Apple Watch finds invisible heart condition for 36-year-old author: ‘It’s not a feature I’d ever expected to use’

A new report from the BBC highlights what is only the latest instance of a person’s Apple Watch alerting them to a potentially deadly heart condition. Adam Croft, a 36-year-old from Bedfordshire, recounted the experience: “It’s not a feature I’d ever expected to use.”

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Apple Women’s Health Study shows promise in predicting serious conditions

Apple Women’s Health Study | Abstract image

Preliminary findings from the Apple Women’s Health Study show that menstrual cycle tracking on iPhone and Apple Watch has the potential to detect risk factors for serious health conditions.

The team behind the study said that this is an under-researched area, and the data from 50,000 study participants is advancing the science in this field …

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Apple VP of Health discusses future of Apple Watch and health in India

Apple VP of Health Dr. Sumbul Desai

Dr. Sumbul Desai has become an important name within Apple. For those unfamiliar, she’s the company’s vice president of health and is directly involved with the development of the Apple Watch. In a recent interview with The Hindu Business Line, Dr. Desai discussed the future of health technologies on the Apple Watch and also about partnerships with Indian researchers.

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Apple unveils latest ways researchers are using Apple Watch to ‘explore new frontiers in heart health’

Apple has announced a handful of new ways the Apple Watch is being used by researchers to “explore new frontiers in heart health/” The company says that upcoming projects include using the Apple Watch ECG app with children and adolescents, measuring the heart health of firefighters, and much more.

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Apple Watch user recounts harrowing health scare: ‘I’d have just passed out and died without ever knowing’

apple-watch-heart-rate

Time and time again, the Apple Watch has been credited with saving lives with its heart monitoring, Emergency SOS, and fall detection features. Now, an Apple Watch user has taken to Reddit to share how their Series 7 saved their life, saying, “I’d have just passed out and died without ever knowing if not for my Apple Watch.”

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Study proves Apple Watch is ready for stress monitoring; here are 3 tracking apps so you don’t have to wait

Track stress with Apple Watch

A new study has been published that demonstrates Apple Watch has the accuracy with its heart rate sensor to help users track stress. Fortunately, while we wait to see if Apple will launch a native stress monitoring experience, its wearable already tracks an important stress-related metric that third-party apps are already using.

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New year, new you – How your Apple Watch and iPhone can help with health and fitness goals

New year, new you

Yep, it’s that time of the year when all the “new year, new you” advice abounds – and when people enthusiastically make all kinds of vows to themselves, most of which are forgotten by the end of January.

But as any fitness expert or dietician will tell you, the secret to sustainable change is to set realistic health and fitness goals, which rely on relatively modest changes you can incorporate into your everyday life. The Apple Watch can help you in three ways …

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watchOS 9.2 update expands the AFib History feature on Apple Watch to another country

watchOS 9.2 update expands the AFib History feature on Apple Watch to another country

One of the new features introduced with watchOS 9 this year is AFib History, which lets users diagnosed with atrial fibrillation keep records of their heart rhythm data in order to get deeper insights into their condition. Apple has now expanded the availability of AFib History around the world with the watchOS 9.2 update.

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Apple Watch diary: Testing the power of data in meeting health and fitness goals

Health and fitness | Activity rings graphic

Apple originally positioned the Apple Watch as being about three things: productivity, communication, and fitness. While the device can indeed help in all three areas, it quickly became apparent that its core appeal was helping people reach health and fitness goals.

Some years back, my colleague Zac Hall told an inspiring story of using Apple Watch data to successfully lose weight, and I have now decided to follow his example. I have several health and fitness goals I want to hit, and I’m hoping that my Health app data will help keep me on track …

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Track medications and supplements on iPhone: How the new iOS 16 feature works

Track medications on iPhone

The Health app gets fresh capabilities with iOS 16 that will be valuable for many users. A major new feature is the ability to track medications on iPhone (vitamins and supplements too). Read on for a look at how it works to use the iOS 16 feature.

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Apple machine learning speech focuses on benefits for accessibility and health

Apple machine learning | Abstract image of robot head

Apple machine learning projects span almost every aspect of the company’s activities, but in a new speech at an AI conference, a senior exec spoke specifically about the benefits for accessibility and health.

Ge Yue, Apple VP and managing director of Apple Greater China, gave her speech at the 2022 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai …

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Withings reveals its ‘most precise’ smart scale with body composition, cardio and nerve assessment

Withings Body Comp smart scale

Withings has shared an early look at its upcoming health device and the company says it’s the “most precise and complete smart scale” and also comes with “its first advanced services offer.” The Body Comp smart scale with Apple Health integration will be launching on October 4 with full body composition measurements, cardiovascular and nerve assessments, and more.

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Apple Watch heart attack detection shown to work – but many barriers to real-life use

Apple Watch heart attack detection | Ambulance arriving at hospital

A medical review has shown that Apple Watch heart attack detection is technically feasible using nothing more than the ECG sensors built into current models.

While Apple’s recommended method of taking an ECG reading results in a 1-lead reading, it is possible to apply a different method to obtain a 9-lead read. There are, however, important provisos to this health news …

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Amazon to buy One Medical – should this be Apple’s next step in healthcare?

Apple Healthcare

Amazon is acquiring One Medical, a company that operates a network of boutique primary-care practices, for around $3.9 billion. As the health market is one of the most profitable in the world and Apple is heavily betting in this sector with the Apple Watch and tons of health studies, should this be the company’s next step and start seeking its way in healthcare?

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Apple created the ultimate guide for how Apple Watch and Health are improving lives

Apple Health report iPhone Apple Watch healthcare

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said before that the company’s greatest contribution to mankind will likely be health-related. And over the past decade, Apple has made impressive strides in new health and fitness features, partnerships with the medical community, and more. Now Apple has released a comprehensive guide on how Apple Watch, iPhone, and Apple Health are empowering people to live healthier lives and how it envisions the future of its most important work.

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