Fitbit, a Google company, in partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance, a pharmaceutical company in the US is coming up with a feature for its smartwatches that will detect irregular heartbeat. This technology detects atrial fibrillation (Afib), which is the most common type of irregularity.
Apple introduced this feature with its Apple Watch 4 as ECG monitoring. In the United States, around 2.1 to 6.7 million have this condition. AFib can be asymptomatic, it can often go undetected, and some studies suggest that more than 25 percent of people who have the condition find out after they have a stroke.
Irregular heartbeat detection is already available in the European markets, now Fitbit is getting this feature in the US. With more and more people getting active and using a fitness band or smartwatch to monitor their activity, features like these are a boon for health tech.
The update rollout period and the smartwatches that will receive this update has not been revealed by Fitbit.
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