Apple Heart Study Ends for Some Early Participants Ahead of January Completion Date

apple watch heart study completeOver the weekend, Apple informed some users who signed up to its Apple Watch Heart Study that their contributions were complete.

An app notification thanked them for their participation and asked them to complete an exit-survey about the study, which first launched in November 2017.

The study in collaboration with Stanford Medicine was offered to anyone in the United States who was 22 years older with an iPhone 5s or later and an Apple Watch Series 1 or later. Atrial fibrillation, a common form of heart arrhythmia that is covered in the study, can indicate serious medical conditions like heart failure and stroke.

Participants were instructed to download and install the Apple Heart Study app and wear their Apple Watch. When an irregular heart beat is detected, a consultation with a Study Telehealth provider from American Well is offered, with some people asked to wear an ePatch monitor for up to seven days for further investigation.

Apple closed the study to new participants at the beginning of last month. In a prior announcement, Apple said the study would not end until January 1, 2019, but it looks as though the participants who received the notifications over the weekend all enrolled early, suggesting that data collection is winding down over stages as the end date approaches.

Rumors have suggested that 2018 Apple Watch Series 4 models will include enhanced heart rate detection features that could improve the smartwatch's ability to detect diseases linked to higher heart rates and abnormal heart rhythms, but what form the enhanced heart rate features will take remains unclear.

Design wise, the Apple Watch Series 4 looks similar to the Series 3 models, but the display will be bigger, allowing more space for watch faces and complications, as confirmed last week in an image leaked by Apple.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Event in October? Here's What to Expect

Monday September 29, 2025 9:31 am PDT by
Apple's annual iPhone event is in the rearview mirror, but rumors suggest the company plans to release a handful of additional products before the year ends. Will there be another Apple event this October? We discuss the possibility below. Apple in October Apple's most recent October events were in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2024, Apple did not host an October event. Instead, it...
iOS 26

Apple Continues to Prepare iOS 26.0.1 With Multiple Bug Fixes Expected

Sunday September 28, 2025 1:30 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The account initially said iOS 26.0.1 would have a build number of 23A350, but they now expect the update to have a build number of 23A355. This suggests that the software update will include more bug fixes or changes than initially...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year

Sunday September 28, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next MacBook Pro models will enter mass production soon, according to the latest information shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said he continues to believe the new MacBook Pro models will be released at some point between late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, meaning they should be available to order by March at the latest. Apple often...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.0.1 With Fixes for Wi-Fi, Cellular, and Camera Issues on iPhone 17 Models

Monday September 29, 2025 10:12 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 26.0.1 and iPadOS 26.0.1, the first updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out earlier this week. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes for the update, iOS 26.0.1 addresses a bug that could cause aberrations in...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
iphone 17 ceramic shield

Regular iPhone 17's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Friday September 26, 2025 9:01 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the standard iPhone 17 model's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 27W to 28W with these Apple chargers:29W USB-C Power Adapter 30W USB-C Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max...
LG UltraFine 6K Display TB5

LG UltraFine 6K (32U990A) TB5 Display: Pre-Orders Open September 30

Monday September 29, 2025 6:21 am PDT by
Pre-orders for LG's new UltraFine evo 6K display (model 32U990A) with Thunderbolt 5 support will begin on September 30, according to a major U.S. retailer listing. LG first revealed the 32-inch display at CES 2025 in January, teasing its status as the first monitor to support Thunderbolt 5. At the time, LG only provided high-level specs, but left pricing, availability, and full technical...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Iridescent 1

Samsung Confirms Plan to Make Foldable Displays for Major American Company

Monday September 29, 2025 6:54 am PDT by
Samsung Display president Lee Cheong has confirmed plans to make foldable smartphone displays for a major American company, which is widely believed to be Apple. As reported in Chosun Biz, Cheong last week told journalists in Seoul that the company is accelerating preparations for mass production of OLED displays designed for foldable smartphones to be supplied to a "North American client."...
maxresdefault

Review: A Week With the iPhone 17 Pro

Friday September 26, 2025 12:51 pm PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 models have been out for a week now, so we thought we'd do a longer-term review of the flagship iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max now that we've been able to spend more time with them. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has a Silver iPhone 17 Pro and a Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max, and despite a lot of concern over...

Top Rated Comments

usarioclave Avatar
92 months ago
I am just saying that it sucks all smartwatches only show current heart rate and never analyze heart rhythm and I wish Apple finally added this so it becomes a standard.
The reason they don't is because they need data first. It's surprising, but the medical field really doesn't have a lot of data on "normal" because the data was really hard, if not impossible, to get. What are people's normal heart rate? What if you're really big? Really small? They have no idea, for the most part.

I'll bet it's unclear how accurate the sensors are, because to do that you have to compare your data against a known standard, and there isn't one. Do you really want to walk around with a nurse all day calibrating your sensor against a manually-measured value?

And even though the data from all these sensors is an amazing trove of data, but even you still need to correlate it.

The good thing is Apple and its partners are starting to do that.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Scottsoapbox Avatar
92 months ago
Whew! I thought you meant it *ended* early for them.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alphaod Avatar
92 months ago
Whew! I thought you meant it *ended* early for them.
Yeah I'm talking to you from down below.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
centauratlas Avatar
92 months ago
I enrolled the day it opened as did my cousin. We both got the "complete" message at the same time this weekend.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
webdriverguy00 Avatar
92 months ago
I also got a message yesterday about study completion
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tl01 Avatar
92 months ago
Got the completed message yesterday.
[doublepost=1535997832][/doublepost]
Not sure the heart sensor works all that well for people with heart murmur. I was jogging at 165 then all of a sudden it reported 85. I think not.
It does that for lots of people especially when you are moving around. When it does that the lower number is usually about half of the actual rate I have found.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)