Passive detection of arrhythmias in the heart is coming to the Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 5, and Galaxy Watch 6 from Samsung

Passive detection of arrhythmias in the heart is coming to the Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 5, and Galaxy Watch 6 from Samsung

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 series is the company’s first smartwatch featuring an abnormal heart rate alarm that doesn’t require a manual electrocardiogram (ECG) to diagnose. The company’s stated goal is to have all One UI 5 Watch-powered smartwatches (including the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5) share the same set of features.

Samsung unveiled One UI 5 Watch last week, which is the first substantial update to the One UI Watch platform since One UI 4 was released last year. After receiving US Food and Drug Administration clearance, the company said that the software would include passive detection of abnormal heart rates. When the ECG app was open and an electrocardiogram was being performed, the Galaxy Watch 5 series could already detect irregular heart rates.

Unusual Heart Rhythm Notifications (IHRN) are alerts that your One UI 5 Watch should provide you if it detects an unusual heart rhythm, as demonstrated in the photos below.

Samsung claims that users will be able to activate the feature via the Samsung Health app. When activated, the One UI 5 Watch will automatically gather data from the heart rate sensor in order to identify cardiac arrhythmias.

‘Upcoming Galaxy Watch devices later this year’ will be Samsung’s first to feature IHRN. In other words, it will be accessible in a wide variety of sizes and designs beginning with the Galaxy Watch 6 series.

One UI 5 Watch upgrades should bring the feature to the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 series as well. Until Samsung receives regulatory approval in more areas, IHRN will likely be unavailable on the One UI 5 Watch.