Apple Watch: How to Monitor Your Heartbeat with the Clock Apps

Measuring heart rate with the Apple Watch

Let’s start with the most basic and direct when it comes to monitoring the health of our heart: measuring heart rate. The Apple Watch has a sensor , located in the lower part of the case of the watch, that allows us to read our heart rate and offer us a good reading on the functioning of our heart. There are several queries that we can make in this regard but the most direct and simplest of all is to look at the moment we want how our heart rate is.

For this, these are the steps to follow:

1. Go to your watch and go to the apps menu (clicking on the Crown)
2. Find the heart icon with a red background and tap on it
3. Stay still while the measurement is performed (you will see that “Measuring …” appears on the screen
4. In a few seconds your heart rate will appear on the screen just then
5. If you continue with the open app you will be able to see in real time how it changes (slightly)

By sliding up with your finger you can also check your resting heart rate as well as your walking frequency (although for this you will have had to have the watch with you while you moved).

High or low frequency notifications

If you want, you can turn on heart rate app notifications on Apple Watch to receive alerts if you have a high or low heart rate for 10 minutes. To establish the measurement (you put it) you must do the following:

1. Go to the iPhone and open the Apple Watch app.
2. In the My watch tab go to Heart.
3. Swipe with your finger until you find Freq. heart rate and select the LPM number.
4. Right below you will see Frec. low cardiac: also select the LPM number for which you want to be notified.
5. You can now go back or exit the app.

How to get an electro with the Apple Watch

It is one thing to see our heart rate at a specific time and another to become “an electro” with the Apple watch. The apple team allows this test to be carried out with the fourth and fifth generation of its smartwatch , so that it is capable of recording the duration and intensity of the electrical signals that make the heart beat and detect possible irregularities, checking whether the atria and Heart ventricles beat in sync. If not, it will alert us that you could have atrial fibrillation (AF), a type of arrhythmia.

You have to be very clear: an Apple Watch is never a substitute for a medical device , so its results will never be 100% conclusive until you visit a doctor. The watch can put you on alert but the last word will always be a specialist.

You should also keep in mind that the ECG application, which is in charge of performing the electro, cannot detect other heart conditions such as hypertension, congestive heart failure or other types of arrhythmia. Nor does it have the ability to detect strokes or even myocardial infarction.

To perform an electrocardiogram you must configure it the first time (using the iPhone) and then proceed to start the app.

Set up the ECG app

These are the steps to follow to configure the ECG application:

1. Open the Health app on your iPhone.
2. Follow the steps that appear on the screen. If you are not prompted to make a configuration, click the Browse tab, then click Heart => Electrocardiograms (ECG) => Configure the ECG app.
3. Once the configuration is completed, you can open the ECG app to do an electrocardiogram.

Do an EKG with the app

To do the electro, follow these steps, making sure first of all that the watch is snug on your wrist and that you are relaxed. It is also a good idea to stay away from any electronic device that is plugged into an electrical outlet to avoid electrical interference.

1. Open the Apple Watch ECG app (it has the symbol of a vital sign line).
2. Let your arms rest on the table or in your lap.
3. Place the finger of your opposite hand on the Digital Crown and hold it there. You do not need to press the crown.
4. Registration lasts 30 seconds. Don’t move during that time. When the registration ends, you will receive an evaluation and you can click on “Add symptoms” to choose the symptoms you present.
5. Tap Save to record the symptoms, and then tap OK.

After registration you can get several results :

• Sinus rhythm: indicates that the heart beats in sync with a uniform pattern between 50 and 100 BPM.
• Atrial fibrillation: indicates that the heart beats in an irregular pattern between 50 and 120 LPM. If you have not been diagnosed with this condition, you should consult your doctor.
• High or low heart rate: This is the same as an inconclusive record. If the heart rate is below 50 BPM or above 120 BPM, it affects the ECG so a good reading cannot be made.
• Inconclusive: the registration could not be done correctly (for example due to having the bracelet incorrectly placed).

Remember that even if you get an unusual rhythm result, this does not guarantee that you are in good health or that nothing happens to you. If you feel bad, always go to your doctor and do not be guided by the clock.

Irregular Rate Notifications

In the same way that you can configure high and low frequency warnings, you can also set warnings for the Apple Watch to let you know if it detects an irregular rhythm that could be an indication of atrial fibrillation.

To configure it you must do the following:

1. Go to the iPhone and open the Apple Watch app.
2. In the My watch tab go to Heart.
3. You will see that the second option is “Pulse warnings” with the possibility of activating the “Irregular rhythm”. Do it.
4. In case the watch detects an irregular rhythm after several readings (the check is done occasionally when you are at rest), it will let you know.

With this set-up you will have established everything you need to monitor your heart more closely, always keeping in mind (we repeat) that if you suspect any ailment, what you should always do is go to your doctor.