AppleWatch.
Empowering your patients to live a healthier day.
AppleWatch has powerful apps that make it the ultimate device for a healthy life. And it can support you and your patients across multiple aspects of health including heart health, mobility, activity, medications, and more.
Heart rate notifications.
AppleWatch checks for unusually high or low heart rates in the background, which could be signs of a serious underlying condition. This could help you and your patients identify situations that may warrant further evaluation.
If a patient’s heart rate is above 120 bpm or below 40 bpm while they appear to have been inactive for 10 minutes, the user will receive a notification. Patients can adjust the threshold bpm or turn these notifications on or off. All heart rate notifications — along with date, time, and heart rate — can be viewed in the Health app on iPhone.
Learn more about heart rate notifications
Irregular rhythm notifications.
The irregular rhythm notification occasionally checks for signs of irregular rhythms that may be suggestive of atrial fibrillation (AFib). This feature won’t detect all instances of AFib, but may catch something that can provide your patients with an early indication that further evaluation may be warranted.
Irregular rhythm notifications use the optical heart sensor to detect the pulse wave at the wrist and look for variability in beat‑to‑beat intervals when the user is at rest. If the algorithm repeatedly detects an irregular rhythm suggestive of AFib, your patient will receive a notification and the date, time, and beat‑to‑beat heart rate will be recorded in the Health app.
In a clinical study using an FDA‑cleared patch ECG as a reference device, the irregular rhythm notification feature demonstrated a sensitivity of 88.6% and a detection specificity of 99.3%.
The irregular rhythm notification feature received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for users 22 years and older with no prior history of AFib.
Learn more about irregular rhythm notifications
ECG app.
With the ECG app, patients who experience symptoms such as rapid or skipped heartbeat, or receive the irregular rhythm notification, can capture an ECG and record their symptoms. This real-world data can enable you to make more informed and timely decisions regarding further evaluation and care.
The ECG app uses the electrical heart sensor built into the DigitalCrown and the back crystal to record a single-lead ECG similar to a Lead I ECG. The ECG app then provides a result of sinus rhythm, atrial fibrillation, atrial fibrillation with high heart rate, inconclusive, or poor recording, and prompts the user to enter any symptoms such as rapid or pounding heartbeat, dizziness, or fatigue. An inconclusive result may occur if there is presence of arrhythmias other than AFib, presence of an ICD or pacemaker, or poor electrical signal, which can result from right axis deviation. The recorded waveform, results, date, time, and any symptoms are recorded and can be exported from the Health app as a PDF to share with a clinician. If the patient notes symptoms that indicate a serious condition, they are prompted to immediately call emergency services.
In a clinical study using a 12-lead ECG as a reference device, the ECG app demonstrated 99.3% specificity in classifying sinus rhythm and 98.5% sensitivity in classifying AFib for the classifiable results.
The ECG app received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for users 22 years and older.
Learn more about the ECG app
Learn about expanded use of the ECG app during the COVID‑19pandemic(PDF)
How the ECG app works.
- Launch the ECG app on AppleWatch Series4 or later.
- Rest arms on a table or in lap, and hold index finger on the DigitalCrown for about 30 seconds.
- Review rhythm classification and record symptoms.
- View and export ECG waveform, rhythm classification, date/time of recording, and any reported symptoms in the Health app on iPhone.
- Allow clinicians to view a snapshot of findings as a PDF.
AFib History.
AFib History is a first-of-its-kind feature that provides patients who are diagnosed with atrial fibrillation with lifestyle insights and long-term tracking of how frequently they show signs of AFib. Your patients will receive notifications with an estimate of the time they spent in AFib each week while wearing their AppleWatch. Patients can also view a detailed history in the Health app.
Your patients can also track lifestyle factors that may contribute to their condition, including weight, exercise, sleep, alcohol consumption, and mindful minutes. These factors are charted alongside their AFib burden to help them better understand the relationship between their lifestyle and AFib.
AFib History is FDA cleared for users 22 years and older with a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. Once AFib History is turned on, irregular rhythm notifications will be automatically turned off.
Validation of AFib detection and monitoring features.
Each feature on AppleWatch is subject to rigorous scientific validation to help your patients receive trustworthy and reliable insights. In 2017 and 2018, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine worked with Apple on the Apple Heart Study and over 400,000 AppleWatch users to validate the ability of wearable technology to aid in the early detection of atrial fibrillation and to support the introduction of the irregular rhythm notification feature. Since then Apple has conducted several prospective multicenter clinical trials to support additional products, including the ECG app, enhancements to the irregular rhythm notification feature, and most recently, the AFib History feature.
See the results of the Apple Heart Study
Learn more about arrhythmia detection validation (PDF)
- Consectetur
- Consectetur
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This can be an addition to our growing armamentarium to identify AFib, which can be intermittent and asymptomatic.
Products that seek to provide deeper health insights, like the AppleWatch, have the potential to be significant in new clinical care models and shared decision making between people and their healthcare providers.
Apple is democratizing healthcare, providing on‑demand access to accurate sensors and software that can help consumers develop real healthcare literacy and inform how daily choices impact their health.
Compare AppleWatch models.
- Heart Rate and Irregular Rhythm Notifications
- AFib History
- ECG App
- Low Cardio Fitness Notifications
- Blood Oxygen Level**
- Fall Detection
- Sensors
- Optical heart sensor
- Optical heart sensor
- Electrical heart sensor
- Optical heart sensor and GPS
- Optical heart sensor
- Accelerometer and gyroscope
- AppleWatch Series3
- Heart Rate and Irregular Rhythm NotificationsOptical heart sensor
- AFib HistoryOptical heart sensor
- ECG AppElectrical heart sensor
- Low Cardio Fitness NotificationsOptical heart sensor and GPS
- Blood Oxygen Level**Optical heart sensor
- Fall DetectionAccelerometer and gyroscope
- AppleWatch SE
- Heart Rate and Irregular Rhythm NotificationsOptical heart sensor
- AFib HistoryOptical heart sensor
- ECG AppElectrical heart sensor
- Low Cardio Fitness NotificationsOptical heart sensor and GPS
- Blood Oxygen Level**Optical heart sensor
- Fall DetectionAccelerometer and gyroscope
- AppleWatch Series4 and 5
- Heart Rate and Irregular Rhythm NotificationsOptical heart sensor
- AFib HistoryOptical heart sensor
- ECG AppElectrical heart sensor
- Low Cardio Fitness NotificationsOptical heart sensor and GPS
- Blood Oxygen Level**Optical heart sensor
- Fall DetectionAccelerometer and gyroscope
- AppleWatch Series6 or later
- Heart Rate and Irregular Rhythm NotificationsOptical heart sensor
- AFib HistoryOptical heart sensor
- ECG AppElectrical heart sensor
- Low Cardio Fitness NotificationsOptical heart sensor and GPS
- Blood Oxygen Level**Optical heart sensor
- Fall DetectionAccelerometer and gyroscope
- AppleWatch Ultra
- Heart Rate and Irregular Rhythm NotificationsOptical heart sensor
- AFib HistoryOptical heart sensor
- ECG AppElectrical heart sensor
- Low Cardio Fitness NotificationsOptical heart sensor and GPS
- Blood Oxygen Level**Optical heart sensor
- Fall DetectionAccelerometer and gyroscope
Mobility and CardioFitness.
Mobility and cardiovascular fitness can be strong indicators of overall physical health and a predictor of long-term well-being. AppleWatch and iPhone can provide estimates of mobility metrics to give you and your patients a better understanding of how they impact mobility today and provide tools to monitor these factors over time. Mobility metrics include Cardio Fitness (VO2 max), Six-Minute Walk Distance, and other metrics used to measure walking quality (Walking Speed, Step Length, Double Support Time, and Walking Asymmetry). These metrics can be utilized for research and app development with the user’s permission.
Learn more about how these metrics were developed and validated:
Using AppleWatch to Estimate Cardio Fitness with VO2 max(PDF)
Using AppleWatch to Estimate Six-Minute Walk Distance(PDF)
Measuring Walking Quality Through iPhone Mobility Metrics(PDF)
Fall detection.
When a hard fall is detected with AppleWatchSeries4 or later, an alert appears and allows the user to easily call emergency services or dismiss the alert. If the user is unresponsive for about a minute, an emergency call will be placed automatically and a message will be sent to the user’s emergency contacts. All falls detected are recorded in the Health app. This feature is automatically enabled for users 55 years and older and can be turned on for anyone in the AppleWatch app on iPhone.
Learn more about fall detection
Medical ID.
Medical ID allows first responders and emergency room clinicians to access critical medical information from a patient’s iPhone LockScreen or AppleWatch without requiring a passcode and without compromising patient privacy. Patients can list important information such as allergies, medications, conditions, organ donor preferences, and emergency contacts by setting up Medical ID in the Health app on iPhone.
Learn more about accessing Medical ID on AppleWatch
Medications.
The Medications experience on iPhone, iPad, and AppleWatch helps your patients track and manage the medications they take. Your patients can receive reminders to log scheduled medications, see medication adherence over time, and review their active medications list.
Cycle Tracking.
Cycle Tracking on iPhone, iPad, and AppleWatch lets your patients track their menstrual cycle, log symptoms, and receive notifications for upcoming periods and fertile windows. They can also receive notifications when their logged cycle shows signs of a possible cycle deviation, such as irregular or infrequent periods, which can be associated with an underlying medical condition.
Learn more about the research that informed cycle deviation notifications
Facilitate richer conversations.
The Health app on iPhone and iPad makes it easier than ever for your patients to visualize and securely store their health records from multiple institutions alongside their patient-generated data, creating a more holistic view of their health. Patients can now share their Health app data, which you can view within your EHR workflow.
Learn more about health records on iPhone
Designed with security and privacy in mind.
When a user’s iPhone or iPad is locked with a passcode, TouchID, or FaceID, their health data in the Health app is encrypted on the device. If a user chooses to sync their health data with iCloud, it is encrypted while in transit and at rest.
The future of healthcare is in your hands.
Learn more about Apple in Healthcare
And the future of health is on yourwrist.
Learn more about AppleWatch
