A new study has found that Apple Watch can effectively predict a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 up to a week before a nasal swab test.
Published in peer review Journal of Medical Internet Research, the study revealed several healthcare workers at Mount Sinai using the Apple Watch and iPhone app dedicated to monitoring and collecting personal health data.
All participants were also asked to fill out a daily survey over the course of several months to provide first-hand feedback about potential coronavirus symptoms and other factors, including stress.
The data collection’s main focus of the researchers was heart rate variability (HRV), a major indicator of nervous system fatigue. This data point was combined with reported symptoms associated with the disease, such as fever, aches, dry cough, and loss of taste and smell.
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Not only was the Warrior Watch study able to predict infection for up to a week before the tests provided the confirmed diagnoses, but it also revealed that participants’ HRV patterns may normalize fairly quickly after their diagnosis, and return to normal about one to two weeks after their positive tests.
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