“I got an alert on my watch.” It’s a phrase I hear increasingly often in the clinic.

Sometimes it’s a notification about a high heart rate. Sometimes it’s a lower resting pulse than expected. Other times it’s a drop in VO2 max or an irregular rhythm alert that’s understandably caused concern.

Wearable technology has transformed the way many of us think about our health. For the first time, people have access to information about their heart rate, fitness and recovery every day, rather than just during a visit to their GP or hospital. Overall, I think that’s a very positive development.

One of the biggest changes I’ve seen in my career is that patients are no longer passive recipients of healthcare. They’re taking a much more active role in understanding their cardiovascular health, asking informed questions and, in many cases, seeking medical advice sooner than they otherwise might have.

I’ve seen wearable technology help identify heart rhythm problems, including atrial fibrillation, that may otherwise have gone unnoticed. Earlier diagnosis can make a real difference.

I recently saw a remarkably fit sports player from Cork whose smartwatch revealed his heart rate stayed unusually high long after exercise. It did not diagnose the problem, but it pointed us in the right direction quickly enough to accelerate his investigations and schedule definitive surgery at the Mater Private Hospital Cork in the coming weeks.

Sometimes the most useful piece of medical equipment is already on the patient’s........

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