Johnson & Johnson and Apple partner on new stroke risk study

Willing participants age 65 and over can help Apple and Johnson & Johnson find out if the Apple Watch is a viable method for reducing the risk of stroke.

The Heartline Study is designed to assess whether Apple Watch's ECG and irregular rhythm notification can reduce the likelihood of stroke and improve health outcomes with earlier detection atrial fibrillation. The study will last two years, and the Heartline app will provide ongoing education, tips, surveys, and questionnaires during its course.

"Apple technology is making a meaningful impact on scientific research through the powerful capabilities of iPhone and Apple Watch, all with privacy at the center of the participant experience," said Myoung Cha, Apple's Head of Health Strategic Initiatives. "The Heartline Study will help further understanding of how our technology could both contribute to science and help improve health outcomes, including reducing the risk of stroke."

Atrial fibrillation is a relatively common form of irregular heart rhythm and a leading cause of stroke in the United States. Often, those with atrial fibrillation do not experience any symptoms, making it hard to assess an individual's risk of stroke. About 30 percent of individuals with the condition don't know they have it until a severe cardiovascular event — such as a heart attack or a stroke — happens.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AFib, the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, results in 158,000 deaths and 454,000 hospitalizations each year.

"Heartline is a study that has the potential to fundamentally change our understanding of how digital health tools, like the ECG app and irregular rhythm notification feature on Apple Watch, could lead to earlier detection of AFib, helping patients understand and directly engage in their heart health, prompting potentially life-saving conversations with their doctors, and improving health outcomes," notes Dr. C. Michael Gibson*, Co-Chair of the Heartline Executive Committee and Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and CEO, Baim Institute.

The study is open to any U.S. resident who is 65 or older and enrolled in Original (traditional) Medicare. Participants must own an iPhone 6s or newer running iOS 12.2 or later, and agree to provide access to their Medicare claims data. Enrollment is performed via the study's dedicated app in the App Store.

Once enrolled, some people may be asked to obtain an Apple Watch Series 5, which can either be bought outright or loaned for the duration of the study. Every week, participants will get tips to improve their heart health or encouragement to be more active, along with being asked to fill out surveys and other actions.

Depending on the study group the user is assigned to, they can earn points for their time and effort completing activities, which can be redeemed for $150 or more in monetary rewards.

The Apple Watch recently made news for detecting yet another undiagnosed case of atrial fibrillation. A Kentucky woman who received an Apple Watch for Christmas in 2018 said the device alerted her to an atrial fibrillation condition five months later, allowing doctors to treat the heart condition.

In November, the results of a previous Apple Heart Study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, performed in partnership with Stanford University, determined the Apple Watch could be a valuable tool in identifying atrial fibrillation.

In that study, 0.5% of the more than 419,000 participants received an irregular heart rhythm notification from their Apple Watch during the eight-month trial.

Latest Exclusives

Latest comparisons

5 Comments

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

About 4 years ago

As we boomers age and get sicker the healthcare industry is growing exponentially. In my small town located twelve miles due east of St. Louis there are several assisted/retirement living projects under way, probably just the tip of the iceberg. That Apple is moving in this direction shows the determination of Apple's executive team to remain innovative and relevant in this booming segment of the economy.

JWSC 1203 comments · 7 Years

While I don’t quite fit into the study group age bracket (yet) these kind of studies are pure gold for Apple and the healthcare industry as a whole. The large number of participants permits a much greater data set to be examined, which yields statistically significant results. This may help to counter the reproducibility crisis by offering superior data that researchers can stand behind with confidence.

In my opinion, these Apple Watch related studies are the coolest thing Apple is doing these days (that we know about).

GeorgeBMac 11421 comments · 8 Years

lkrupp said:

As we boomers age and get sicker the healthcare industry is growing exponentially. In my small town located twelve miles due east of St. Louis there are several assisted/retirement living projects under way, probably just the tip of the iceberg. That Apple is moving in this direction shows the determination of Apple's executive team to remain innovative and relevant in this booming segment of the economy.

It may be less about aging and more about their ability to collect accurate health data: Only those 65 or older are eligible for traditional Medicare -- which is the only central repository of health data in the country.

Other countries with centralized healthcare systems provide better options for epidemiological research because the health data of the citizens can be more easily and accurately obtained. In the U.S. the only reliable source of information (aside from government health programs) is whether the subject is alive or dead -- which may be one reason why research over focuses on mortality rather than morbidity or healthy lifespan.

I just signed up.

A couple things of interest:
1) If you don't already a Series 4 or newer Apple Watch, they will either pay for an unspecified part of a Series5 or loan you one for the duration of the study (I forget if its 2 years or 3).

2) If you already have a Series 4 Apple Watch you will be enrolled in the BYOD (bring your own device) arm of the study -- which is observational only. You won't be part of either the control group or the study group.

3) But, either way, you will participate in all parts of the study and the ability to earn points that are redeemable for up to $240 in gift cards. (Not $150 as this article states).

4) Including reading the privacy agreement, it takes about half an hour to sign-up. And, you need a "MyMedicare" account and be able to sign into to it.

5) Personally identifiable information will be kept by a separate third party and you will only be identified in the study by a randomly generated number.

Good for Apple!

More than anything this study is matching lifestyle to medical conditions and events.

THAT is exactly what this country needs! That knowledge will not only help to improve public health but the healthcare system itself -- which ultimately will help bring down the $3.5 Trillion a year (5 times the defense budget!) we spend on healthcare.

That is: 80% of our healthcare dollars ($2.8Trillion a year) is spent to treat the symptoms of our epidemic of chronic diseases. And it has been shown that most of those diseases can be greatly postponed or eliminated with healthier lifestyles. For instance, Ornish proved that his lifestyle program can reduce up to 80% of heart disease plus other chronic diseases like diabetes and cancer.

Aside from all the early death and suffering those diseases cause, we are going bankrupt trying to pay for their treatment. And, it doesn't matter what vehicle is used to pay for it (private insurance, single payer, Medicare, Medicaid, whatever) we simply cannot afford it. Basically we are trying to figure out how to pay our bills after we already spent the money and receive our credit care bill.

Anything that will reduce that spending will help -- and healthier lifestyles will help, by far, the most.
(The next best way to reduce that spending is to reduce the corruption in the provider (hospitals, etc.) system. Medicare even has a name for their corruption: "Game the system" where a provider pulls legal or undetectable tricks to suck more money out of the system).

Share Your Thoughts on our Forums ->