Apple Watch ECG heart monitoring is finally approved in Australia
Australia’s health regulator has finally approved the long-awaited Apple Watch electrocardiogram feature.
Australia’s health regulator has finally approved the long-awaited Apple Watch electrocardiogram feature. It means Apple watches in Australia will be capable of the advanced heart monitoring functionality announced in 2018.
This ECG approval comes three weeks after the Therapeutic Goods Administration approved another Apple Watch feature: irregular rhythm notification.
The two functions work together. Irregular rhythm notification alerts users to a worrying heart beat. It periodically reads a wearer’s heart rhythm in the background.
The ECG readout is an on-demand feature. You install the ECG app on the watch. Once that’s done, you open the app, rest your arms on a table and hold your finger on the watch’s digital crown to take a reading.
Apple says the recording takes about 30 seconds. You can see a graph of your heart rhythm on the watch face.
An irregular heart rhythm notification is an early warning sign. You can then perform an ECG after getting the notification.
These two features became possible when Apple launched its Series 4 watch in 2018, but they were never activated in Australia.
The features will not be automatic. Apple has to release an upgrade to its watchOS operating system for it to happen. The next opportunity for this is when Apple releases watchOS upgrades. There is no indication yet on whether the next upgrade will support the heart functions.
The question remains why did Apple take so long to obtain the TGA approval in Australia?
This doesn‘t seem to be the TGA’s fault. Last year, it approved health features on French manufacturer Withings’ ScanWatch just weeks after Withings submitted its request for approval.
Withings last year told The Australian that its TGA approval took a couple of weeks. It sent the same performance information to Australian health authorities as it did to authorities in other countries.
Withings offers ECG and oxygen saturation measurements on its watch. It too measures heart rate and attempts to detect atrial fibrillation.
That other brands were starting to promote medically-approved heart monitoring systems meant Apple had to up its game with its watch.
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