If you’ve ever wondered whether upgrading to the Apple Watch ECG functionality might justify an upgrade to the Series 4, cardiologists say probably not…

CNET consulted several cardiologists, who said there is little overlap between Apple Watch owners and candidates for AFib.

Indeed, as has been suggested before, the feature could cause unnecessary worry.

Contrast that with the fact that the CDC estimates AFib affects somewhere between 2.7 million and 6.1 million Americans, but the majority of those people are over the age of 65. In fact, only approximately 2% of people younger than age 65 have AFib and it’s estimated that only 1% of the population may have undiagnosed AFib. In the latter two groups, AFib episodes are often brief, cause no symptoms and may not require treatment.

This is all to say that if you’re young, healthy and don’t already have any diagnosed health problems, you might not experience significant benefits from the ECG app, or the watch’s other heart rate features

None of this is to say that the feature is completely pointless. Rare as AFib may be among the Apple Watch demographic in percentage terms, a tiny percentage of a large demographic still adds up to a significant number of cases.

As a result, experts worry that putting Apple’s screening technology on the wrists of millions of people who are likely to be young and healthy could increase the risk of over-treatment.

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And while the Apple Watch ECG feature may be of limited value to the general population, it may have the potential to be be a valuable tool for those already diagnosed with AFib.

Photo: Shutterstock

“I generally recommend devices that can record continuous ECGs over long periods of time rather than the intermittent snapshot of the Apple Watch,” says Murthy. “That said, future data may help us decide if that’s necessary or if intermittent ECGs coupled with photoplethysmography-based rhythm monitoring [like what the Apple Watch does] is sufficient.”