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MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

The newest Apple Watch can now flag potential problems with your heartbeat - a feature that's been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and that Apple is marking as a major achievement. But some doctors said that including heart-monitoring tools in such a popular consumer product could prompt unnecessary anxiety and medical visits.

The company touted its heart-tracking feature as proof that the watch can help people proactively manage their health "The Apple Watch has become the intelligent guardian for your health," Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, who oversees the development of the Apple Watch, said in the company's presentation of new Apple products this week.

[...] The FDA has cleared Apple's device as a Class II medical device, meaning that it is intended to diagnose or treat a medical condition and poses a minimal risk to use. (Other Class II devices include some powered wheelchairs and pregnancy kits, according to the FDA website.) In its letter to Apple clearing the feature, the FDA listed as a risk factor the potential for mistakenly flagging a problem, prompting unneeded treatment.

Source: https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/What-cardiologists-think-about-the-Apple-Watch-s-13230271.php

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