We hear a lot about the Apple Watch saving lives, but Apple has a new goal in mind. Apple announced its intentions yesterday (February 25) as part of a major partnership.

The current Apple Watch Series 5 was a success as the company shifted its focus to health, and Apple is looking to continue in that direction with the help of Johnson & Johnson. The press release detailed J&J's own app, Heartline Study. The app will work with the heart health features of the Apple Watch to see if it can "improve health status, including stroke risk reduction."

Hopefully the Apple Watch and Heartline Study app will be successful in attempts to detect atrial fibrillation (AFib) early. Atrial fibrillation, which the press release describes as "a leading cause of stroke," is particularly difficult to detect because it creeps up on patients asymptomatically and does not alert them until a cardiovascular event occurs.

According to Dr. C. Michael Gibson, co-chair of the Heartline Executive Committee and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, the Heartline study will see if Apple Watch technology, including "ECG [electrocardiogram] apps and irregular rhythm notification features," can detect atrial fibrillation early This is an attempt to confirm this.

The study also has the advantage that participants can contribute remotely and from their own devices. As stated in the press release, "This approach to conducting clinical trials, if successful, has the potential to save time and money."

Are you considering participating in the program to increase the pool of data collected? To participate, you must be at least 65 years old, a U.S. resident, and enrolled in Original (traditional) Medicare. They must also already own an iPhone 6s or later and have authorized the company to access their Medicare billing data.

Participants will also receive "ongoing education, tips, surveys, and questionnaires across many topics related to overall heart health throughout the two-year active engagement period."