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Apple Watch AFib history now in India to help users with heart conditions

Apple introduced AFib history feature for the Apple Watch during WWDC 2022, which is now available in India. The feature helps users suffering from heart ailments to monitor their health

Apple Watch

Photo: Bloomberg

Sudeep Singh Rawat New Delhi

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Apple Watch is a very efficient and effective device when it comes to tracking cardio health. Apple Watch offers various benefits to track your health, including ECG on Apple Watch, keeping track of cardio fitness and Atrial fibrillation (Afib).

Apple brings the AFib history feature in India which is now available on Apple Watch Series 4 and later for users on WatchOS 9.

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The AFib history feature is a great tool for Apple users who are diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a chronic condition in which the patient experiences irregular heart rhythm.

The AFib condition can be influenced by simple factors like exercise, sleep, diet, and medical conditions. The most common symptoms of the disease are rapid heartbeat, palpitations, fatigue or shortness of breath.
 

What is AFib disease?

AFib is an irregular heart rhythm, where the upper chambers of the heartbeat do not sync with lower chambers leading to heart failures, strokes or blood clots in the heart.

Apple introduced the AFib history feature with watchOS 9 last year during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2022 after receiving US Food and Drug Administration's approval.

With the Apple watch functionality, users can track the frequency of their heart rhythm showing signs of AFib. The AFib history feature is currently available in India for the Apple Watch Series 4. Later, it will also be available for watchOS 9 users.

What are the requirements of AFib history features?

  • The AFib history feature is available for those who have a physician's diagnosis of AFib. 
  • To receive estimates of the AFib history feature, the user must wear the Apple Watch at least 12 hours a day for five days a week. 
  • Don't forget to enable heart rate and wrist detection on your Apple watch.
  • The AFib history is not intended to be used by people under the age of 22.

How to view the AFib history estimate?

Users receive weekly alerts on Monday on their Apple Watch, which shows the estimated percentage of time their heart showed signs of AFib from the previous week.
  • Users can also track details in the health app
  • Open health application on your iPhone
  • Click on browse, and then click on the heart option
  • Tap on AFib History
The AFib history appears as a percentage. If the percentage is low, it means your heart is in AFib less often, while a higher percentage means more often. The AFib history never shows zero, it only shows two or less.

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First Published: Jul 19 2023 | 5:45 PM IST

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