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Apple Watch gets FDA-cleared EKG features

Abnormal heart rhythm alert and an electrocardiogram could both help warn of potentially life-threatening heart conditions.

James Martin
James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET. His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care. From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology. Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.
James Martin
Apple Watch electrocardiogram EKG
1 of 9 James Martin/CNET

CNET senior reporter Vanessa Hand Orellana sits in a consultation room at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco while cross-referencing Apple Watch's new electrocardiogram feature readings with medical-grade EKG equipment. 

"The last thing I expected was to find something abnormal with my heart rhythm," she says. 

Apple Watch electrocardiogram EKG
2 of 9 James Martin/CNET

With the update to WatchOS 5.1.2, heart rate will play a more important role on the Apple Watch as the device gets access to the two new FDA-cleared features: an abnormal heart rhythm alert for all models, except for the first-generation, and an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) exclusive to the Series 4

Apple Watch electrocardiogram EKG
3 of 9 James Martin/CNET

The latest update to Apple Watch, WatchOS 5.1.2, rolled out the two new features, both of which could help warn of potentially life-threatening heart conditions.  

Apple Watch electrocardiogram EKG
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A technician connects the series of 12 electrodes used in the hospital during a standard medical EKG heart test.

Apple Watch electrocardiogram EKG
5 of 9 James Martin/CNET

The EKG on the Apple Watch directly coincided with the results of the hospital EKG that Dr. Gregory Marcus, a professor of medicine and a cardiac electrophysiologist at UCSF Medical Center, had printed out. Both devices showed intermittent early beats coming from the upper right ventricle of Vanessa's heart.

Apple Watch electrocardiogram EKG
6 of 9 James Martin/CNET

The results from the Apple Watch on the iPhone were compared to the 12-lead EKG results on paper. 

"This would be really useful to screen for this or to have the first understanding that you have these early heart beats," said Marcus. 

"What's missing in the single lead Apple Watch is the information that tells us more specifically where exactly this is coming from."

Apple Watch electrocardiogram EKG
7 of 9 James Martin/CNET

"We see on your Apple Watch the same early heartbeat that we see on the EKG," said Marcus during CNET's testing.

Apple Watch electrocardiogram EKG
8 of 9 James Martin/CNET

Examining the results of the Apple Watch EKG alongside the test of the more advanced medical EKG device at the UCSF Medical Center

Apple Watch electrocardiogram EKG
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Marcus says the results displayed on both devices are concerning for Vanessa. He wants to follow up with her about the early beat that was detected. 

For people with more serious heart conditions, this could help doctors make a faster diagnosis and allow them to treat the problem sooner.

The irregular heart rhythm notification is already available on all Apple Watches starting with the Series 1 and can be set up in the Heart section of the Watch app. 

The EKG app is only available on the Apple Watch Series 4 and is only available in the US, though Apple expects to get regulatory approval for this feature in other countries later on. 

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