J&J and Apple will evaluate the ability of Apple Watch to detect and diagnose atrial fibrillation.
The Heartline clinical trial, to be conducted by Johnson & Johnson and Apple, will be a randomized, controlled study with 180,000 participants at least 65 years of age, designed to track patient results with the Apple Watch via insurance claims databases — rather than the typical bricks-and-mortar model.
The study is expected to launch in late 2019 and will investigate the performance of the Apple Watch in combination with Apple Watch’s irregular rhythm notifications and electrocardiogram app and J&J’s health app to detect and diagnose atrial fibrillation (AFib). AFib is a type of irregular heartbeat that can act as a sign of stroke. According to J&J, AFib accounts for nearly one-third of all strokes. The goal of the trial is to determine whether the technologies can accelerate the diagnosis of AFib and improve outcomes that could help prevent stroke.
A recent report by Stanford University School of Medicine on preliminary results from its Apple Heart Study indicated that over one-third of participants whose Apple Watch detected an irregular heartbeat were found to have AFib.