The CDC estimates that up to 9 percent of people ages 65 and older in the U.S. are affected by atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heart beat. Last year, Apple equipped its smartwatch with an electrocardiogram feature that alerts users to abnormalities in their heart rhythm.
Since then, Apple said it has received customer feedback that the Apple Watch “has helped them identify heart conditions, seek medical treatment, lose weight and get more active,” according to AppleInsider.
Two ways Apple is promoting American Heart Month in February:
- Apple will offer a new activity challenge for the Apple Watch to support heart health. Participants who close an “exercise ring” for seven consecutive days — from Feb. 8 to Feb. 14 — will earn a special badge and stickers to use on the iPhone’s messaging app.
- Prominent health experts — celebrity fitness trainer Jeanette Jenkins; Sumbul Desai, MD, Apple’s vice president of health; Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association; Jay Blahnik, senior director of fitness for health technologies; and Julz Arney and Craig Bolton from Apple’s fitness technologies team — will host various events at Apple stores in San Francisco, New York and Chicago.
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