Incorrect Heart Rate mHealth Apps Pose Consumer issues

Almost a fifth of measurements recorded by heart rate mHealth apps for users can be incorrect by upwards of 20 beats each minute, compared to clinical monitoring, inn accordance to research from the European Society of Cardiology.

A group of researchers observed 4 different heart rate mhealth apps available on the App Store for iPhone 4 and 5, and discovered that these heart rate mhealth apps were appealing to consumers because of the ease-of-use and accessibility.

Not merely are the apps easily available, but can be tantalizing to consumers regardless of a significant likelihood to give false data.

“Heart rate mhealth apps come installed on several smartphones and once individuals see them it is human nature to use them and compare their outcomes with others,” stated study author Dr Christophe Wyss, a cardiologist at Heart Clinic Zurich, Switzerland.

But incorrect readings may lead to alarm in sufferers and prompt unimportant communications with providers.  “Consumers and interpreting physicians require being aware that the differences between apps are huge and there are no criteria to assess them,” cautioned Wyss.

In the research, the researchers assessed the precision of certain heart rate mHealth apps by comparing the results to the clinical gold standard measurements. Clinical monitoring utilizes an electrocardiogram (ECG), which measures the electrical activity of the heart using leads on the chest, and fingertip pulse.

The apps were broken into 2 subgroups: ones that made contact with the user and apps that were non-contact. Apps that made contact with the consumer were much more accurate than the non-contact apps, in accordance to the research team.

Although, even the user-contact apps delivered different results, as one of them was much better at recording heart rate in contrast to the other.

“The one contact app was remarkable, performing nearly like a medically approved pulse oximeter device, but the other app wasn’t accurate even though they use the similar technology,” claimed Dr Wyss.

The researchers attemped to find why the apps were different, but couldn’t even after reviewing camera technology (iPhone 4 versus iPhone 5), age, body temperature, or heart rate itself. The most likely answer includes proprietary information from the developer side of app production.

“The difference in performance between the contact apps is possibly down to the algorithm the app uses to measure heart rate which is commercially confidential,” stated Dr Wyss. “It means that merely because the underlying technology works in one app does not mean it works in another one and we cannot assume that all contact heart rate apps are precise.”

Non-contact apps performed worse than the contact apps overall. Problems in performance were very apparent when consumers had high heart rates and lower body temperatures, as the apps had a tendency to overestimate higher heart rates. The team considers that ease-of-use over accuracy incentivizes users to download the non-contact apps.

“While it is convenient to use the non-contact apps – you only look at your smartphone camera and it provides your heart rate – the number it gives is not as precise as when you’ve contact with your smartphone by putting your fingertip on the camera,” Wyss asserted.

Incorrect claims on heart rate apps have led some government officials to take action on the matter.  In the month of March, New York Attorney General Eric G. Schneiderman put sanctions on 3 heart rate mhealth apps that mislead consumers about in-app heart rate monitoring.

“Mobile health apps can benefit users if they function as advertised, don’t make misleading claims and protect sensitive user information,” Schneiderman claimed in a press release. “Although, my office won’t hesitate to take action against developers that disseminate unfounded data that is both false and potentially harmful to everyday consumers.”

Users who use heart monitoring apps should be aware that the tools might not present precise data, Wyss added, and shouldn’t use mHealth applications as a replacement for clinical monitoring of cardiac conditions.