Navigating the Role of Smartwatches in Cardiac Fitness Monitoring: Insights From Physicians and the Evolving...

Alongside the advancement of technology, wearable devices like smartwatches have widely been used for monitoring heartbeat, SpO2, EKG, and pacemaker activity. However, the global question is- can they be as effective as our standard diagnostic tests- electrocardiogram and echocardiography? Reported in the studies, smartwatches to the gold standard Holter monitoring for recognizing irregular pulse showed good sensitivity (98.2%), specificity (98.1%), and accuracy (98.1%). Smartwatches can be good enough for helping people get long-term monitoring of cardiac fitness and early diagnosis of atrial fibrillation but physicians shouldn't completely rely on them and perform standard investigations once the patient with symptoms visits them. We are also concerned that there must be certain rules and regulations for FDA approval of smartwatches to maintain standard criteria before they are released in the market.