A couple from Maidenhead, Berkshire collaborated with scientists to explore the potential benefits of smartphones and sports watches in enhancing health. Chris Monk, 38, discovered he had atrial fibrillation during a routine run in 2019 when his sports watch showed that his heart rate was not slowing down. This led to his hospital admission where the condition was confirmed. His wife, Nicola Monk, who works in the NHS, recognized the value of the device in diagnosing her husband’s condition and joined a group to assist scientists in studying how similar gadgets can contribute to people’s health.
The British Heart Foundation’s Data Science Centre is conducting research on how sports watches can be utilized to monitor health. The center emphasized that having a heart rate monitor during exercise could lead to new discoveries in cardiovascular research, enhancing disease prediction, diagnosis, and treatment. The BHF’s Data Science Centre highlighted the potential benefits of securely linking device data with a person’s NHS records with their consent. Dr. Jackie MacArthur, a senior scientific program manager at the BHF’s Data Science Centre emphasized that this integration could lead to new discoveries in cardiovascular research.
Chris Monk emphasized the importance of integrating technology into healthcare outcomes for more individuals after his experience with atrial fibrillation during a routine run in 2019 when his sports watch showed that his heart rate was not slowing down. He believes that having access to precise data from devices can enhance healthcare outcomes for individuals like him who may have overlooked their symptoms without it.