Written by Michelle Flatt.

Fitness Trackers to Save Lives

Technology in patients’ hands can give medical professionals the help they need to ensure patients’ health. Instead of looking up their symptoms on Google, anyone can buy a tracker that can monitor their health. However, since the new technology became available, professionals have worried that patients would be running into ERs thinking they’re having a heart attack, all because their watch sent them a warning. The future, however, is bright for this technology and could be very helpful to medical professionals.

Now, in 2019, there are a handful of wearable trackers like the Fitbit, Apple Watch, or other smart devices. Spotting atrial fibrillation early on is very important and these trackers can help with that. These same trackers could potentially help decrease the 130,000 deaths per year and also help detect heart attacks and strokes earlier. This doesn’t just help the medical professional dealing with the patient, but it also gives the patient a little more grip on their own life.

These devices are not perfect, and hopefully, the user understands that. However, with trackers improving and providing more reliable data, they could be monumental for the medical field. Patients are also smarter than we give them credit for. People also understand that not every time they get a weird feeling do they need to be rushed to the hospital. However, it’s also the patient’s life on the line, and they want to know that they are healthy. So, the smarter our fitness trackers, phones, and watches are, the better off we will be in the future. These advancements could lower death tolls, and additionally help solve health issues that need to be detected early.

Fitness trackers are not just there to tell you you’re unhealthy. They are also put into play to let you know you are doing well. These wellness trackers don’t just check your vitals, they also count steps, measure other movements (like sitting, laying, etc.), can help keep track of calorie intake, monitor sleeping habits and stages of sleep, and also send messages. Not all trackers have these abilities, but most have more than just the one function of checking your heart rate. Trackers help the user understand themselves better. The user can also set a goal for themselves and track those goals easily, and the trackers can also help them train more effectively. Sure the costs for these wrist caretakers vary, but that cost is money spent toward a healthier life.

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