Podcast Summary: Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Episode: Can Your Smart Watch Actually Help You Live Longer?
Date: November 7, 2025
Guest: Dr. Sumbal Desai, Vice President of Health, Apple

Episode Overview

In this episode, Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the potential for wearable health technology—particularly Apple devices—to extend and improve our lives. Speaking with Dr. Sumbal Desai, a physician, Stanford professor, and Apple's VP of Health, they delve into whether smartwatches and AirPods can genuinely help people identify, prevent, and manage major health issues. Through live discussion at the Paley Museum in NYC, the conversation highlights the evolution of wearable health tech, its impact on users, skepticism from the public and medical field, and the ethical responsibilities of tech companies in healthcare.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Humans’ Fascination with Self-Tracking

• [00:01] Dr. Sanjay Gupta opens with reflections on self-tracking’s long history, tracing it back to Leonardo da Vinci's designs, likening early pedometers to today’s smartwatches.
  • Quote:
    “But it turns out, even back then, people were trying to figure out how to measure their own health… Wearable technology does way more than count steps. They can flag heart issues, detect signs of high blood pressure, pick up on hearing loss.”
    — Sanjay Gupta [00:12]

2. Dr. Sumbal Desai’s Journey: Medicine Meets Technology

• [02:43] Dr. Desai recounts her unconventional path—engineering background, initial resistance to medicine, personal family health crisis—which influenced her philosophy and later career in digital health.
  • Notable Moment:
    How her mother’s stroke and hospital experience pushed her to empower patients and rethink healthcare delivery.
  • Quote:
    “What stayed with me… is that one, always treat your patients the way you would want your mom to be treated. And two, that voice of like, how do you empower patients to ask the right questions?”
    — Sumbal Desai [05:16]

3. Apple’s Serendipitous Entry into Health

• [08:12] Apple’s initial commitment to health technology was organic—responses to user feedback drove development far more than corporate strategy.
  • Apple introduced heart sensors to improve move ring accuracy, then received user stories of serious health conditions picked up by the watch.
  • Quote:
    “Health was truly very organic. We never sat back and said, hey, this is a strategic priority for us… We really got into it because we heard from our customers.”
    — Sumbal Desai [09:47]

4. From Step Counting to Medical Innovation

A. Heart Monitoring and Medical Features

• [10:39] Features like irregular heart rhythm notifications and at-home ECG led to FDA-regulated products, giving users tools once exclusive to clinics.
  • Quote:
    “We really think of that as democratizing access to certain things that you traditionally have to go to a doctor for.”
    — Sumbal Desai [11:06]

B. Blood Pressure via Watch (Machine Learning Approach)

• [12:02] Dr. Desai details how Apple used photoplethysmography (“those green lights”) and machine learning to identify hypertension through wrist data.
  • Apple’s system notifies users if patterns consistent with high blood pressure appear.
  • Sensitivity is 41%, but a positive notification has a 92% chance of being meaningful.
  • Quote:
    “If we notify you, we're very confident that you have stage one or stage two hypertension… It's more important to us to make sure we don’t have false positives.”
    — Sumbal Desai [13:13]

C. Empowering Patients with Data

• [14:33] Discussion covers “intelligent guardianship”—devices as health companions, not replacements for physicians.
  • Detailed physician reports accompany data so users can share with doctors.
  • Quote:
    “We want these products to be used really to enrich your relationship with the doctor, not replace a physician.”
    — Sumbal Desai [15:52]

5. Societal and Medical Reception

• [15:40] Skepticism in medicine and among the public is addressed with transparency, external collaborations, and evidence-based product development.
  • Engagement with medical associations like the American College of Cardiology to define best practices for integrating consumer devices.

6. Hearing Health: AirPods as Diagnostic and Assistive Devices

• [18:05] Conversation pivots to adopting AirPods for hearing tests and assistance.
  • Initial engineering aimed at noise-canceling and conversation-boost, then studies (University of Michigan, WHO) revealed hearing test potential.
  • AirPods now offer over-the-counter hearing aid-like functionality for mild/moderate loss, available via software update.
  • Reduces stigma and onboards users into hearing health without special devices.
  • Quote:
    “If we can get more people taking hearing tests longitudinally so they pick up hearing loss sooner… that's a win.”
    — Sumbal Desai [21:07]

7. Corporate Motivation and Impact: Business vs. Public Good

• [22:35] Gupta probes if health innovation mainly serves Apple’s bottom line.
  • Dr. Desai asserts impact over profit: “The hearing aid functionality is available on existing AirPods. You can actually just do it through a free software update. We actually didn't make anybody purchase it.”
    — Sumbal Desai [22:38]
  • Moving stories of customer lives saved/changed power internal motivation more than business goals.
  • Memorable Story:
    A pregnant mother’s high heart rate alert led to life-saving intervention for both herself and her baby (24:00).

8. Ethical, Social, and Professional Responsibility

• [24:20] Gupta reiterates public skepticism about tech corporations taking the lead in health domains traditionally handled by healthcare systems.
  • Dr. Desai shares:
    “When I put a pitch together and there's not a clear business plan to it, but it's the right thing to do and it still gets approved and that happens. And that's pretty powerful.”
    — Sumbal Desai [25:05]
  • She closes on the responsibility and unique opportunity to leverage Apple’s scale for good.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “People have long been fascinated with their own bodies and trying to quantify it in some way. And these days, wearable technology does way more than count steps.”
  — Sanjay Gupta [00:12]

• “Our goal… is we want these products to be used really to enrich your relationship with the doctor, not replace a physician.”
  — Sumbal Desai [15:52]

• “The motivation truly is, of course we want our products out there… but we truly want to empower people to live healthier lives… That impact is almost the fuel that drives a lot of the innovation.”
  — Sumbal Desai [22:35]

• “If we can get those people to actually use the hearing aid functionality… that's a win. So when they need a traditional hearing aid, should their hearing progress, they're more comfortable with using it.”
  — Sumbal Desai [21:13]

• (Pregnant mom story) “If you hadn't come in, not just you would have passed away, but you would have lost your baby.”
  — Sumbal Desai [23:40]

Timestamps of Major Segments

• 00:01 | Opening reflections on the history of health tracking
• 02:43 | Dr. Desai’s personal journey and health philosophy
• 08:12 | Organic growth of Apple’s health tech
• 10:39 | Heart monitoring, ECG, FDA clearance
• 12:02 | Blood pressure and machine learning innovations
• 14:33 | Patient empowerment and physician partnerships
• 18:05 | Hearing health with AirPods—access, stigma, and impact
• 22:35 | Profit, purpose, and the motivating stories
• 24:20 | Final reflections on ethics, opportunity, and social impact

Tone and Language

Dr. Sanjay Gupta maintains an inquisitive, journalistic, and at times, skeptical approach, inviting Dr. Desai to respond to both promise and critique. Dr. Desai speaks in a clear, passionate, slightly technical style—sharing personal stories, data points, and values-driven goals, blending medical, business, and ethical themes.

Summary in a Nutshell

This episode underscores that wearable tech is no longer just tracking steps—it’s proactively flagging health issues, nudging prevention, and even providing hearing diagnostics. Apple’s approach, as described by Dr. Desai, is shaped by user impact, rigorous scientific validation, and a mission to democratize healthcare—not just selling devices. The episode ends with candid reflections on the unexpected ways tech is reshaping health, and the deep responsibility held by companies with global reach.