ECG. Is this normal or a faulty watch?

Got a used AW8 a few weeks ago. I had heart bypass surgery several years ago and ongoing heart disease. Got the watch for the ECG and A-fib functions mostly. First I do understand having the watch properly adjusted and am under all circumstances always sitting with my arm resting still on a solid surface and touching the crown steadily. I’m not trying to record during activity. When I take a resting ECG everything looks good. Regular pulses on a mostly steady line. After I been active, walking or working, I cannot record a valid ECG. The more active I’ve been the worse the display becomes. Instead of recording the hearts beat on a steady line I just get a lot of random up and down spiking. I can duplicate the random spiking during a non active ECG by just slightly moving my finger on the crown. I’ve no idea if that is normal or if perhaps it’s a problem with the watch. I’m pretty sure and hope that’s not actually a true picture of my heart activity 😀. The attached pictures are a normal rested ECG. One after mild exertion and after more exertion. Because I bought the watch on eBay I did purchase supplemental repair/replacement insurance. Is this normal, do I need to make a claim or are my expectations unreasonable? Thank you for taking time to read this and hope someone can advise.



Apple Watch Series 8, watchOS 10

Posted on Apr 17, 2024 6:15 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 18, 2024 8:04 AM

It's not normal — the behavior that is; those two ECG traces are certainly useless.


It shouldn't be terribly difficult to get an accurate trace. All I can suggest is that you endeavor to rest your finger on the crown lightly and with as little movement as possible for the thirty seconds it needs. You can use a a thumb or opposite finger on the opposite side of the Watch body to stabilize finger contact with the crown.


If you're doing all that correctly and still have reason to believe the Watch itself is defective, perhaps have someone else try it. Also, I'm curious if the Heart Rate app records your pulse accurately, or if it too is having difficulty. That might help isolate the problem to the sensors on the back of the watch, which is also required for the ECG app to work. If it's not getting an accurate pulse then that's where the problem lies.


Yes obtaining an Apple Watch from eBay is less than ideal, and perhaps you should consider replacing it if that's an option.


Using the ECG app after a strenuous workout should not present a problem in and of itself, but if you're shaking or (perhaps) sweating a lot it could conceivably result in some difficulty getting an accurate trace.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 18, 2024 8:04 AM in response to MikeAtHomeAlone

It's not normal — the behavior that is; those two ECG traces are certainly useless.


It shouldn't be terribly difficult to get an accurate trace. All I can suggest is that you endeavor to rest your finger on the crown lightly and with as little movement as possible for the thirty seconds it needs. You can use a a thumb or opposite finger on the opposite side of the Watch body to stabilize finger contact with the crown.


If you're doing all that correctly and still have reason to believe the Watch itself is defective, perhaps have someone else try it. Also, I'm curious if the Heart Rate app records your pulse accurately, or if it too is having difficulty. That might help isolate the problem to the sensors on the back of the watch, which is also required for the ECG app to work. If it's not getting an accurate pulse then that's where the problem lies.


Yes obtaining an Apple Watch from eBay is less than ideal, and perhaps you should consider replacing it if that's an option.


Using the ECG app after a strenuous workout should not present a problem in and of itself, but if you're shaking or (perhaps) sweating a lot it could conceivably result in some difficulty getting an accurate trace.

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ECG. Is this normal or a faulty watch?

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