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Samsung Watch EKG Feature
I received a Samsung watch for my birthday last year, in anticipation of the release of the EKG feature for it. I understand it is now available but I will be darned if I can figure out how to install it!! Anyone have success with this who can talk a fairly non-techie through it?
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Hello @iowafemale - The Samsung support page has some pretty easy looking step by step instructions for installing the EKG app on your phone here:
https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00087702/. The site is kind of kludgy with ads popping up and having to X them out. The website has some pictures to go along with the steps but here are the steps.
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Install the Samsung Health Monitor app
First, make sure to install the Samsung Health Monitor app on both your watch and phone. Once you download the app on your phone, it should automatically install on the watch as well.
Note: The Samsung Health Monitor app requires a Galaxy Watch Active2 or Watch3 on the most recent software, paired with a Galaxy phone running Android 7 (Nougat) or later.
1. Navigate to and open the Galaxy Store on the connected phone.
2. Search for and select Samsung Health Monitor, and then tap Install.
3. When it's installed, open the app and follow the on-screen instructions to set it up.
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Pair your watch and phone
If you haven't done so already, you will need to pair your watch and phone together in order to use the ECG feature in the Samsung Health Monitor app. You can connect your devices via the Galaxy Wearable app.
1. First, swipe down from the top of your phone’s screen to open Quick settings, and then tap the Bluetooth icon to enable Bluetooth.
2. Next, navigate to and open the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone, and then tap Get started.
3. Select your watch model from the list of devices. Wait for your watch to pair or tap Scan for nearby devices to search for it.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish pairing your watch and phone.
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Update the Galaxy Wearable app
To ensure your watch can sync correctly to the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone, you will need to make sure the app has been updated. The latest software is also required to use the ECG feature. You can update the Galaxy Wearable app from the Galaxy Store or Play Store.
1. Navigate to and open the Galaxy Store on your phone, and then tap Menu (the three horizontal lines).
2. Tap Updates to check for available updates, or tap My Apps to see all of your apps.
3. Then, tap the Update icon next to Galaxy Wearable.
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Set up the Samsung Health Monitor app
When the Samsung Health Monitor app has been downloaded, your phone and watch have been paired, and the Galaxy Wearable app has been updated, you can finally start setting up the ECG feature.
1. Open the Samsung Health Monitor app on the connected phone, and then tap Continue.
(Galaxy Watch3 discovered and Continue option displayed on a Galaxy phone)
2. Fill out the necessary information, and then tap Finish.
3. If prompted, tap Set up lock screen, and then create a lock screen for your phone.)
4. Next, tap Swipe up to start.
5. When your watch is discovered on the phone, tap Get started. If your phone is having trouble discovering your watch, open the Samsung Health Monitor app on your watch. Allow the permissions, and then tap Open phone app. Your phone should then discover the watch.
(Get started option displayed on a Galaxy phone)
6. Follow the on-screen prompts and review the information shown.
7. Select the wrist where you’ll wear the watch (left or right), and then tap Done.
(Left option selected with Done displayed on a Galaxy phone)
8. On the watch, read the information, and then tap OK. Your watch will then ask you to perform an ECG reading. You can do it now, or do it at a later time.
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2 ReactionsThank you!!
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1 ReactionWe are having to call Samsung. A search doesn't show me the Health Monitor app.
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1 ReactionI think this is the app on the Google Play Store
- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.android.app.shealth&hl=en_US&gl=US
My cardiologist tells me that there is too much artifact on the ECGs done with the Samsung watch and app. Any suggestions? Has anyone else had that problem? The app reads whether or not I am in a-fib but the cardiologist would like a cleaner tracing.
Hi @iowafemale. I understand your interest in having cleaner tracing with your device. I found this earlier discussion on Samsung wearable devices so you will notice I have moved your question here to continue to explore the capabilities of your device with help from @johnbishop who is quite tech savvy.
In the meantime, I wanted to share the following article on "How useful is the smartwatch ECG?": https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1050173819301495
One thing to note is that wearable devices are typically only an indicator of possible issues and would recommend always to follow up with a doctor if you have questions on a reading.
Given that your cardiologist has concerns, what were his/her recommendations with regard to the watch and app?
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2 ReactionsThanks for the mention @amandajro.
Hi @iowafemale, I have one of the older Series 2 Apple iWatch's and I bought one of the Kardia ECG pads when they first came out. After I had it a few months and had been taking an ECG along with my blood pressure every morning. I have hypertension and do take blood pressure medication but had really never been concerned with Afib or arrhythmias until one morning on a weekend the app popped up with an possible Afib reading. I had some anxiety and called my healthcare insurer who have a nurse hotline for questions. She told me to have someone take me to the emergency room. Being a guy and feeling OK, I decided to wait and took the ECG a couple of more times. The Afib reading went away but it showed "unclassified" reading so I didn't go in and decided to mention it to my Mayo doctor at my next appointment a few weeks away. I gave him my phone and he talked with a cardiologist and mentioned it looks more like PVCs and thought it wasn't something to worry about. They both agreed it wasn't Afib so that made me feel a lot better but a little questioning about my Apple watch and the Kardia device.
Then I started thinking about my different health conditions and one being peripheral neuropathy. I use my fingers on the pads for the ECG and the thumb on the Kardia watch band I also have and both rely on the nerves (I think) in my fingers which are probably not that great. I think your Samsung watch with the ECG may have cleaner readings than my older iWatch but I still think they both will only be a possible indicator and the doctor/cardiologist is the one that can do the interpretation if a regular ECG is needed. Possibly it all boils down to one lead into the electronics for recording?...but that's just an uneducated guess 🙂 My Apple watch has been showing me Afib readings for a couple of years now but they are interspersed with normal and unclassified readings. I've been thinking of getting a new Series 4 Apple watch which probably is similar to the Samsung in how they work, not needing the small pad for the fingers.
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1 ReactionI am going to discuss it with him at my appointment at the end of the week. He isn't satisfied with the amount of artifact he messaged me. I can't seem to get a reading without one. He has sent me to his office to get an EKG using the Kardia system, but he suggested the watch and app. So far, it's been less than successful. A colleague of his used the Apple watch. We had android phones so I have the Samsung watch. We will see later this week.
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1 ReactionDue to the medication I take for a-fib (which is at bay so far), I have a strange T wave. In fact, cardiologists unfamiliar with my ECG often think I have a prolonged QT interval. So we will see when I see him next what he says.
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