Data sent by Google for new Fitbit feature 

According to the report, Google has submitted data about a new Fitbit feature it plans to add to Fitbit. This feature will be able to monitor the user’s heart rate. The data has been provided to the Food and Drug Administration for approval.

Fitbit’s Heart Rate Feature

Fitbit can now check for irregular heart rhythms periodically, which means users need to enable the feature on the device and decide to take a reading.

Meanwhile, the new feature that Google plans to add to the device will run. In the background and warn users if they have signs of a condition called atrial fibrillation, according to The Verge.

This will bring Fitbit’s EKG feature closer to the one the Apple Watch has, which will check a user’s heart rate occasionally and alert them if it catches any abnormalities, according to Engadget.

In 2010, Fitbit launched a study to test passive pacemaker technology. Nearly half a million Fitbit users participated in the study, and the feature marked 1% of the participants, or just under 5,000 users, as having an irregular heartbeat.

The data were then presented at the 2021 American Heart Association meeting.

Users were asked to set up a remote consultation to receive an EKG patch, and around 1,000 people did so. Of those, a third had a confirmed diagnosis, giving Fitbit a positive predictive value for atrial fibrillation of 98%.

In the case of the Apple Watch, the atrial fibrillation warning had a positive predictive value of 84% in a similarly sized study.

Tony Faranesh, a research scientist at Fitbit,

Says the results are promising and they believe it will have a real impact. On the early detection and treatment of the condition.

Atrial fibrillation is associated with a higher risk of stroke, and Fitbit hopes that this type of early detection will help prevent strokes.

But it remains unclear whether monitoring atrial fibrillation through a smartwatch can actually prevent strokes from occurring. Most research has focused on whether wearables are accurate and whether their use will keep users healthier in the long run.

Faranesh says there’s no clear timeline for when the new heart rate might be available on Fitbit devices.

Fitbit recalls Ionic smartwatches

The announcement of the new feature comes in just weeks. After Fitbit voluntarily recalled about 1 million lithium-ion battery smartwatches in the United States due to the risk of overheating and burns. The company has recalled 700,000 watches worldwide, according to Healthline.

Fitbit discontinued the Ionic smartwatches in 2020, but these smartwatches are on sale at Kohl’s, Best Buy, Target, on Amazon, and Fitbit.com from September 2017 to December 2021.

Experts note that the Fitbit models you can buy today are safe to wear while exercising.

Dr. Michael Tiso, a sports medicine physician at Ohio State University, says. That recent reports of overheating in some wearables are still rare. Xfinity Internet plans

To avoid possible overheating while charging the device, it is best to keep the device out of direct sunlight. While wearing it, you need to take it off immediately if it starts to overheat.