If you have been following this blog for a while, it wouldn’t come to you as a surprise that I love the Apple Watch. It does everything I want a smartwatch to do, and it does some more stuff that’s thankfully not just novelty. For example, the ECG feature. With the ECG feature you can take an electro-cardio graph of your heart with your Apple Watch and it will tell you if your heart is beating in Sinus Rhythm (normal), or if the ECG shows signs of Atrial Fibrillation. That’s important information to have, so if you are wondering, here is how to set-up and use ECG on Apple Watch.
Note: Apple Watch ECG is only available on Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5 in select countries. Check our list of Apple Watch ECG countries to see if your region is supported.
Set-up and Take Your First ECG
- Head over to the Health app on your iPhone. In the ‘Summary’ tab, you will see a notification saying ‘Set Up ECG App’. Tap on this. Enter your date of birth, and tap Continue.
- Now, open the ECG app on your Apple Watch, and place your index finger on the Digital Crown.
- That’s it, your watch will now take 30 seconds to record your ECG and will then tell your results.
Check Your ECG Report
When you take an ECG on your Apple Watch, it automatically generates a report in the Health app on your iPhone. If you want to check this report, you can simply tap on the notification on your iPhone. If the notification isn’t showing up, or if you accidentally cleared it away, here’s how to access your ECG reports.
- In the Health app tap on ‘Browse‘ in the bottom nav-bar and then tap on ‘Heart‘.
- Tap on ‘Electrocardiograms (ECG)‘. You will see all your recorded ECGs here.
Export ECG Report for Your Doctor
You can also export a full ECG graph for your doctor to take a look at if you’d like. To do this, simply tap on one of your recorded ECGs, and then tap on the option that says ‘Export a PDF for your Doctor‘.
You can then save this PDF and share it with your doctor.
Apple Watch ECG Availability (Countries)
If for some reason the ECG app isn’t showing up on your Apple Watch, make sure you check that you’re residing in a country where the ECG feature is available. Here is a list of countries where Apple Watch ECG works.
Apple Watch ECG Countries
| Austria | Germany | Italy | Singapore |
| Belgium | Greece | Luxembourg | Slovakia |
| Canada | Guam | Netherlands | Spain |
| Croatia | Hong Kong | Norway | Sweden |
| Czech Republic | Hungary | Poland | Switzerland |
| Denmark | Iceland | Portugal | UK |
| Finland | India | Puerto Rico | USA |
| France | Ireland | Romania | US Virgin Islands |
Keep a Track of Your Heart Health with Apple Watch
The Apple Watch is great at warning people about potentially life-threatening issues with their hearts, however, keep in mind that the Apple Watch isn’t a substitute for professional medical instruments and machines. The Apple Watch ECG can not detect a heart-attack, and if your Watch is saying your ECG is absolutely normal but you’re feeling like something is wrong in your chest, consult a doctor at the earliest.