Record an electrocardiogram with the ECG app on Apple Watch (2024)

FAQs

Can you record ECG on an Apple Watch? ›

If you don't see a prompt to set up, tap Browse at the bottom right, tap Heart, then tap Electrocardiogram (ECG). Open the ECG app on your Apple Watch. Rest your arm on a table or in your lap. With the hand opposite your watch, hold your finger on the Digital Crown, then wait while Apple Watch records the ECG.

In short, the Apple Watch ECG is very accurate. One study by a Stanford Asociate Professor of Medicine demonstrated that the Apple Watch could accurately detect AFib in 84% of cases when compared to a traditional 12-lead ECG.

The ECG Insight App is your go-to tool for unlocking the secrets of your heart's rhythm using data from your Apple Watch. Built to provide accurate and reliable insights, this app is designed to enhance your understanding of your heart's health and empower you to make informed decisions about your well-being.

Electrodes (small, plastic patches that stick to the skin) are placed at certain spots on the chest, arms, and legs. The electrodes are connected to an ECG machine by lead wires. The electrical activity of the heart is then measured, interpreted, and printed out.

Make sure that your Apple Watch isn't loose on your wrist. The band should be snug, and the back of your Apple Watch needs to be touching your wrist. Make sure that your wrist and your Apple Watch are clean and dry. Make sure that your Apple Watch is on the wrist that you selected in the Apple Watch app.

On Apple Watch Series 1 or later, the IRNF analyzes pulse rate data collected by the photoplethysmograph (PPG) sensor to identify episodes of irregular heart rhythms suggestive of AFib, and it provides a notification to the user when it detects an episode.

There is no extra cost for ECG. The hardware/software support is part of the Apple Watch Series 4.

The ECG app is not intended for use by people under 22 years old. The device has only been evaluated for the detection of AFib or normal sinus rhythm and is not intended to detect any other type of arrhythmia. It cannot detect heart attacks.

You may have a perfectly normal ECG, yet still have a heart condition. If your test is normal but your doctor suspects that you have a heart problem, he may recommend that you have another ECG, or a different type of test to find out for sure.

Is the Apple Watch ECG FDA approved? ›

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.

Recording an ECG

Open the ECG app on your Apple Watch. Rest your arms on a table or in your lap, and hold your finger on the Digital Crown. You do not need to press the crown during the session. The recording takes 30 seconds.

The Apple Watch ECG app can provide four possible results – Sinus Rhythm (regular heart pattern), Atrial Fibrillation (irregular rhythm), Low Heart Rate or High Heart Rate (if your heart rate is below 50 BPM or above 120 BPM on ECG version 1, or above 150 BPM on ECG version 2), and Inconclusive (if the app can't ...

This means an ECG showing atrial fibrillation will have no visible P waves and an irregularly irregular QRS complex. The ventricular rate is frequently fast, unless the patient is on AV nodal blocking drugs such as beta-blockers or non-dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers.

Anytime, anywhere. With the ECG app, Apple Watch is capable of generating an ECG similar to a single-lead electrocardiogram.

On Apple Watch Series 1 or later, the IRNF analyzes pulse rate data collected by the photoplethysmograph (PPG) sensor to identify episodes of irregular heart rhythms suggestive of AFib, and it provides a notification to the user when it detects an episode.

If you mean can you put your Apple Watch on your Wife's wrist and take her ECG, then sure. It will be stored on your iPhone and you will need some way to keep track of which reading is yours and which is your Wife's, but nothing stops you from putting the Apple Watch on someone else's wrist for a 30 second ECG reading.

EKG and ECG are actually different spellings of the same diagnostic test that monitors your heart's electrical activity. EKG is the abbreviation from the German spelling of electrocardiogram (which is elektrokardiogramm in German). The EKG abbreviation came into use because of where the test was initially invented.