Track infections through resting heart rate(github.com) |
Track infections through resting heart rate(github.com) |
This is not always true and I would recommend not to rely on it.
I recently had a sore throat, nothing more than redness, and felt sleepy all day for 6 days in a row. My Rhr had tanked to 50 consistently (manually verified) and I was concerned, but had no other issues than feeling a bit fatigued and mostly feeling sleepy. I did feel feverish, but had no fever (re-verified with multiple thermometers). I checked for any chest issues using a stethoscope at home, even though I did not have any respiratory problems.
Two days into it and on a second throat inspection, I found I had follicular tonsillitis - probably caught from my kid. A bit of a relief as I knew how to deal with it - but still no body fever. In the last two days, my Rhr then jumped back to 65-80 and it was the only time I had a fever once (101.5F), but my body was already feeling better and recovering from the infection.
Maybe coronavirus is different though. I would check up on sources.
And it's not because I have the infection (I don't), it's because I've been stuck working in my apartment in Seattle for the past 3 weeks and I feel like I'm living a boring dystopian novel. I also stopped weightlifting, as the gym is closed. So my 'convict conditioning' workouts aren't giving me the same dose of endorphins as before, which helped keeping me happy and with a steady calm heart rate (I'm a huge hypochondriac). People I run into when I buy food also seem on edge.
Not sure how relevant something like this would be for someone living in the middle of the outbreak, which is probably the exact target of such a tool. Yes, I am aware that I'm aware of my stress (as you stated in the readme) but again, it wouldn't help me or others by tracking my heart rate and associating it with an infection.
There are always going to be outliers and what not. I knew someone who used to intentionally lower their heart rate to like 30 beats per second when getting their heart rate taken to screw with medical staff because they thought it was funny. Combination of good fitness and meditation techniques.
Nothing is perfect. But this seems like a rather good idea compared to expensive tests that potentially expose the person being tested to risk and potentially expose others to them at a time when they may be contagious.
This seems like a rather poor time to "just play devil's advocate" without some real and serious objection.
False positives come at a cost. For example there is considerable debate about the use of routine mammograms, because of the potential stress caused by false positives.
I’ve tracked my resting HR for years, and there’s so many other things that can affect it, including (in rough order of magnitude) alcohol & dehydration, lack of sleep & stress, ambient temperature, other illnesses, and finally exercise (which has a big impact long-term, but also gets lost in the short term noise).
I keep close tabs on my resting heart rate to assess when I’m pushing the limits, and it’s been higher than usual these past few weeks...
Still, I do agree that in some instances it increases noticeably (I had the flu a while back and can confirm it rose a bit half a day or so before My throat started getting sore). But I don’t think it should be used as the only/main indicator for infection.
I'm still not sure if this puts me at any sort of elevated risk should I get infected with COVID-19. I am self isolating just in case, but my country is not really taking very drastic isolation measures right now and part of me just feels like I am being paranoid with no clear way to know if I am predisposed to any complications or not.
I've made an app that collect heart rate data from the apple watch and posts it to a public server together with an approximate location. Data is anonymized.
Apple rejected the app, since it relates to human subject research and need IRB approval.
The app and backend are open source. If anyone want to push this through their university and do some research, you have my full support.
-- rejection
Hello Peter,
Thanks for your time on the phone today.
As we discussed, we noticed that your app is conducting health-related human subject research however the seller and company names associated with your app are not from a recognized institution and we were unable to verify independent ethics review board approval.
We have now rejected your app for the App Store Review Guidelines detailed below.
Guideline 5.1.3 - Legal - Privacy - Health and Health Research
Your app is conducting health-related human subject research, but we were unable to verify independent ethics review board approval.
Next Steps
Apps conducting health-related human subject research must secure approval from an independent ethics review board. You can attach proof in the App Review Notes section of App Store Connect.
Guideline 5.1.1 - Legal - Privacy - Data Collection and Storage
We found in our review that your app provides services in a highly-regulated industry and requires sensitive user information, however the seller and company names associated with your app are not from a recognized institution.
Per section 5.1.1 (ix) of the App Store Review Guidelines, apps that provide services or collect sensitive user information in highly-regulated fields should be submitted by a legal entity that provides these services, and not by an individual developer.
A similar software like this Apple watch thingie could measure our heart rate through the web cams we have at our laptops.
Why does Apple think I’m unable to decide for myself whether I want this or not.
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=covid-19&c=apps
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=coronavirus&c=apps
0 results.
I knew i had COV-19, so I logged everything.
Friday (contraction of virus) to Tuesday (first symtoms) my RHR tanked each day incrementally from 62 all the way to 50. on Wednesday when my fever kicked in, RHR jumped to 64.
You might have been misdiagnosed based on the information available at that time. Children have different statistics on various body parameters at various age groups. You could compare your reports with recent research to see if you actually had tachycardia
> resting heart rate still tends to be in the 90s
It is within the normal age but on the higher end, but you should get your blood pressure checked. I do not know your age, but it might change once you go above 25 or 28. When Rhr drops with age, it is a sign that your metabolism is slowing and you should start measuring body-fat.
> any sort of elevated risk should I get infected with COVID-19
There is no real correlation or evidence. But in your case if you have mild fever and feel nauseous - that would be the first red flag. It may be just because you ate something, but if it is Covid19 or any flu causing SARS then the other symptoms like dry cough and higher fever may follow in 8-24 hours. You may not even see mild respiratory/breathing problems or severe fatigue or low blood pressure until 48-72 hours. Seeking medical attention and getting good diagnosis and prognosis quickly should be a priority, many people go to the emergency after 120-144 hours and then end up on ventilators in a matter of 4-6 hours. The survival rates on ventilators are not good enough.
Note: I'm not a medical professional. I have known these things out of my curiosity in medicine and accidental experience in hospitals with some talented doctors and intensivists.
Unfortunately I don't have reports from when I was a child. This was in a post soviet country in the early 90s and I doubt those medical records are still obtainable. At the time I was experiencing some kind of reaction causing high fever, hives and swelling everywhere, and inability to move due to bone and joint pain. I can't remember how long it lasted, I think it was weeks. The doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong and thought I was dying, but in one of their tests they did pick up on the tachycardia.
I'm a little disappointed because I am a rather fit and athletic person, so I'd expect my resting heart rate to be lower as we see with other athletic adults! When I exercise it almost immediately goes to the very high 100s, and sometimes to 200 after strenuous exercise, but I don't consider that to be worrying like a high heart rate at rest.
I will be sure to watch out for the signs and the progression you mention. But in terms of seeking care early - I'm not quite sure what good that would do. If I don't need a ventilator yet and just have normal cold or flu like symptoms (which I'd usually stay home for) how would they be able to help? It isn't like there's a cure right? I would be concerned with going to the doctor and being turned away as there's nothing they can do, but in the meantime taking up valuable time and resources from people who may be more severely ill.
This does not logically follow. There are many reasons your resting heart rate could be increased and most will be unrelated to infections.
I'll tweet out a request see if someone is willing to take it up.
It’s not unreasonable for Apple to demand similar steps.
It's not like we don't have precedent with the latter at this point. Apple's stance doesn't really seem that unreasonable here.
Who would that help?
But for some reason as a society we will let people sky dive, horseback ride, smoke cigarettes, or get raging drunk for any reason, but if it's for research we won't let subjects consent to even the risk of filling out a survey without IRB approval.
Last I checked, "ethics" were supposed to protect life, not uphold some arbitrary abstract standard while people died by the raft loads.
But pay me no mind. I learned my ethics from military culture which deals with life and death routinely. So I might have some weird ideas about upholding the value of life as sacred or something.
> When I exercise it almost immediately goes to the very high 100s, and sometimes to 200 after strenuous exercise
At age 31, "immediately goes to the very high 100s" - if you go above 140 fairly quickly and you are not in endurance sports, it is concerning. You should consult a cardiologist when times get normal. Typically athletes involved in endurance sports also have lower than normal Rhr.
> in terms of seeking care early
For Covid19, because of its scale, you can't do much other than vaguely understanding the line of treatment and going to the hospital when symptoms appear. Do not think: "I will give it one more day". 90% covid19 infected people do not need a ventilator. When in doubt, get a test done. But note that the tests may result into a false negative if you appear without the symptoms. Do not panic. For future doctor visit, keep a fever record with time and comment any progression of symptoms. Stay hydrated and get enough rest.
Good to know regarding doctor's visit should it come to that, thanks!
It's one thing to protect users from malware, quite another to treat them like legal incompetents.
But I only see App Store guidelines cited, not federal legislation. So the odds are good that someone in the company has the power to overrule that.
Given the circumstances, it seems to me this would be an appropriate time for an executive to say "Yea, verily, fuck them there guidelines. Let this person do this thing."
And if they don't want to or can't do that, it would be a good time for someone to hand walk it through the process and get it hooked up post haste with whatever doohickey would make everyone all happy.
Any set of regulations needs a crisis mode.
"Certain other people, like doctors and insurance companies, need to comply with strict rules surrounding your privacy when handling your health data. You, on the other hand, can do any fucking thing you want with your personal health data. Sign here in triplicate to assign this right to others. Have a nice day."
(I might be making up the triplicate thing for dramatic effect. It might only be duplicate. shrug)