Researchers claim FitBit, Apple Watch can detect long-term effects of Covid-19 – morningtidings

Smartwatches and fitness bands have become quite health focused over the years. Apple with its smartwatch and brands like FitBit have been integrating important health features in their devices. A new research hints that the Apple Watch — and a few other wearables — may very well detect long-term effects of Covid-19.
A report by The New York Times cites research done by by scientists at the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California. According to scientists, they found that about “nine days after participants with Covid first began reporting symptoms, their heart rates dropped.” Soon after the dip, according to scientists, the Covid-19 patients heart rates rose again and was elevated for months. “It took 79 days, on average, for their resting heart rates to return to normal, compared with just four days for those in the non-Covid group,” the scientists said in their research.
Further, “sleep and physical activity levels also returned to baseline more slowly in those with Covid-19 compared to those with other ailments,” the report noted.
A small subset of people’s heart rates remained above normal for one to to months after they were infected by Covid-19. “Nearly 14 percent of those with the disease fell into this category, and their heart rates did not return to normal for more than 133 days, on average,” the report notes.
Smartwatches like Apple Watch and FitBit monitor data on heart rates, body temperature, physical activity and more — could help detect early signs of Covid-19 symptoms. The research showed that Fitbit or Apple Watch data displayed physiological and behavioral changes that could last weeks or months after a person has been diagnosed with Covid-19.
The study monitored 37,000 participants for over nine months. All the participants had to download an app and agreed to share private wearable data, health records and symptoms.