Apple Watch Series 4 was the first smartwatch that comes with FDA approved ECG tracking feature. Later, both Samsung and Fitbit joined the club by successfully integrating the EKG feature into their smartwatches.
Garmin Smartwatches come with many advanced health tracking features such as heart rate variability, irregular heart rate alert, sleep tracking, calorie tracker, etc. But does it have ECG feature?
Must Read: Best FDA Approved ECG Smartwatches in 2021
Let us find the answer.
Do Garmin watches have ECG?
As of now, Garmin wearables do not come with any ECG tracking features. It cannot distinguish between atrial fibrillation and sinus rhythm (normal heart rhythm).
Even the newly released Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE and Garmin Forerunner 55 does not have an ECG tracking feature. These devices have features closest to an ECG with its VO₂ Max and PPG heart-rate sensor. However, it does not detect atrial fibrillation or abnormal heart rhythms.
Lack of ECG is a significant disadvantage of Garmin wearables compared to advanced health-tracking smartwatches such as Apple Watch Series 6, Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, and Fitbit Sense.
Fortunately, now there is hope for Garmin lovers too. As per the latest update, Garmin is actively researching whether its smartwatches can take an ECG and detect Afib.
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Garmin ECG Research
Garmin is currently doing an Electrocardiogram Clinical Validation Test to validate the ECG algorithm for Garmin smartwatches that can detect atrial fibrillation from the data derived from the single-lead ECG sensor.
FDA Approved ECG tracking smartwatches from Apple, Samsung and Fitbit also use a single lead ECG sensor to detect irregular heart rate on their devices.
All these devices are pretty accurate compared with a 12 lead ECG used to diagnose cardiac problems in a clinical or hospital setting.
Even though these EKG smartwatches don’t replace an actual medical-grade device, they can alert you to any irregular heart rates or atrial fibrillations that might be early signs of a cardiac arrest or stroke.
If Garmin succeeds in developing an ECG tracking feature, it will make revolutionary changes in sports wearables as sports personnel mainly depend on Garmin wearables.
We hope that Garmin will introduce a more advanced type of watch with an ECG tracking feature in the near future.
When can we Expect Garmin ECG Smartwatches?
At present, there is no confirmation about when Garmin will launch smartwatches with the ECG tracking feature.
It is difficult to predict when Garmin will come out with its new ECG tracking smartwatch, as it has to undergo hurdles such as clinical validation by the FDA.
But we hope that Garmin may release the new Garmin Fenix 7 and Forerunner 955 devices with the Garmin ECG feature at the beginning of 2022
