NEWS
Smart watches could alert of risk of sudden death
Researchers have developed an algorithm that could enable smart watches to alert wearers to potentially deadly changes in their heart rhythm. The research, presented at the British Cardiovascular Society conference, could help to identify people at risk of sudden death. Every year in the UK thousands of people die of sudden cardiac death (SCD), where the heart develops a chaotic rhythm that impairs its ability to pump blood. Usually, identifying people at risk of SCD requires a visit to hospital for tests. This new algorithm could, in future, enable everyday wearable technology to detect potentially deadly changes in the wearer’s heart rhythm. The algorithm was developed by researchers from Queen Mary University of London and University College London. They found that it was able to identify changes on electrocardiograms (ECGs, which measure electrical activity in the heart) that were significantly associated with the risk of being hospitalised or dying due to an abnormal heart rhythm.
The team used data from nearly 24,000
participants from the UK Biobank Imaging study, which was part-funded by the British Heart Foundation, to get a reference for normal T waves on an ECG. The T wave represents the time it takes the ventricles (the two larger chambers of the heart) to relax once they have pumped blood out of the heart. An abnormal T wave can indicate an increased risk of ventricular arrhythmia, an abnormal heartbeat that begins in the ventricles (main pumping chambers) of the heart. Ventricular arrhythmias are a major cause of sudden death.
They then applied the algorithm to ECG data from over 50,000 other people in the
UK Biobank study to look for an association between changes in the shape of the T wave on a resting ECG and the risk of being hospitalised or dying because of arrhythmia, heart attack or heart failure. They found that people with the biggest changes in their T waves over time were significantly more likely to be hospitalised or die due to ventricular arrhythmias. Dr. Julia Ramirez, lecturer at Queen
Mary University of London, led the study. She said: “Previously, finding warning signs that someone was at risk of arrhythmias and sudden death would have required them to have an ECG while undergoing an exercise test. We’ve been able to develop this algorithm so it can analyse ECGs from people taken while they’re resting. This will make it much easier to roll this out for everyday use in the general population. “Our algorithm was also better at predicting risk of arrhythmia than standard ECG risk markers. We still need to test it in more people, including different cohorts, to ensure it works as it is supposed to. However, once we’ve done this, we’ll be ready to start studying the integration of the algorithm into wearable technology.” Professor Metin Avkiran, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Identifying people who are at risk of sudden cardiac death is a major challenge. This algorithm could act as a warning sign that someone is at risk of a life-threatening disturbance in their heart rhythm.
“While more work is needed to test the algorithm, this research is a step forward in our ability to identify people who could be at risk of severe arrhythmias and sudden death and take preventive action.”
COVID infection rates three times lower for double
vaccinated people Findings from the latest report of REACT-1, one of the country’s largest studies into COVID-19 infections in England, shows overall prevalence nationally is substantially higher in round 13 interim (swabs taken 24 June to 5 July) than round 12 (swabs taken 20 May to 7 June), rising from 0.15% to 0.59% – an approximately fourfold increase with around 1 in 170 people testing positive. There was continued exponential growth in prevalence with an average doubling time of 15 days between round 12 (swabs taken 20 May to 7 June) and round 13. There have been substantial increases in all age groups under the age of 75 years, and especially at younger ages, with the highest prevalence for 13 to 17 years at 1.33% and 18 to 24 years at 1.40%. Infections have increased in all regions with the largest increase in London, where prevalence has increased more than eightfold from 0.13% in round 12 to 1.08% in round 13.
In people aged 64 or younger, the prevalence of infection among those who had received 2 doses of vaccine was 0.35% compared with 1.15% among those who had not received any vaccine, demonstrating the impact of the vaccination rollout. Prevalence is increasing to a lesser extent among those vaccinated, rising from 0.06% in people aged 65 and above who reported receiving 2 doses in round 12, to 0.24% in the same group in round 13. This latest data from Public Health England (PHE) shows the vaccination programme has saved over 27,000 lives and has prevented over 7 million people from getting COVID-19. It also shows that both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine can reduce symptomatic infection by almost 80%. Professor Paul Elliott, director of the REACT programme from Imperial’s School of Public Health, said: “In spite of the successful rollout of the vaccination programme, we are still seeing rapid growth in infections, especially among younger people. However, it is encouraging to see lower infection prevalence in people who have had both doses of a vaccine. It is therefore essential that as many people as possible take up both vaccine doses when offered.”
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