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4 Apple Watch Apps to Help Keep Tabs on Your Heart Health

The Apple Watch has built-in heart rate monitoring, and Series 4 takes that up a notch. But if you have an older Apple Watch or just want to beef up your heart-rate monitoring on any version, these are some of the best apps for heart health.

October 15, 2018
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Your heart rate is one vital indicator of your health. A heart that beats too fast or too slow can be a symptom of a larger problem and an important reminder to see your doctor. But how can you track your heart rate and keep a history of it? That's where your Apple Watch can come in handy.

By itself, the Apple Watch comes with a Heart Rate app that can track your current heart rate and show your resting rate and rates during different exercises. The Workout app can also record and display your heart rate during and after a workout. If you have the new Apple Watch Series 4 ($191.99 at Best Buy) , it will give you alerts about low and high heart rates, while an ECG app is coming later this year.

But if you have an older Apple Watch or want additional heart stats, you can also beef up your watch's skills through third-party apps.

How to Install Apps on Apple Watch

How to Install Apps on Apple Watch

To install an app on your Apple Watch, open the Watch app on your iPhone. Tap the icon for App Store to browse apps or tap the icon for Search to search for apps. Tap the app you want to install, and it's placed on both your iPhone and watch.

To see which apps are installed and which ones are available, swipe down on the My Watch screen in the Watch app until you see the section for "Installed on Apple Watch." You can remove an installed app by tapping on it and turning off the option to "Show App on Apple Watch." Swipe down to the next section for "Available Apps" to see which apps are on your iPhone but not on your watch. Tap the Install button to install that app on your watch. Now let's check out some helpful health apps for your watch.

Cardiogram

Cardiogram
Your watch's built-in Heart Rate app can measure your heart rate at rest and during exercise or other activities. The free Cardiogram app for your Apple Watch can also record your heart rate and adds a graph of your results. First, set up the Cardiogram app on your iPhone by creating an account and syncing the data with the Health app. On your watch, open the app to see your current heart rate. Swipe the screen to the left. Tap Start to record your heart rate continuously. Tap Stop when done. Return to the previous screen to see a graph of your heart rate over the recorded time. Open the Cardiogram app on your iPhone to see an analysis of your latest heart rate results and those over time.

HeartWatch

HeartWatch
For $2.99, HeartWatch can record and track your heart rate, both the current beat and your beat over time. First, set up the app on your iPhone, giving it permission to access your health data. Then open the app on your watch. The Workout screen that greets you can track your heart rate during a workout. Tap the Start button and then choose your workout—running, walking, cycling, weights, and more. Begin your exercise. When done, swipe up the screen to save or discard the data, or resume the workout.

Take Your Pulse With HeartWatch

Take Your Pulse With HeartWatch
HeartWatch then places you at a different screen where you can choose to record your pulse, measure your sedentary heart rate, track your heart rate during sleep, and add notes by voice. Tap Pulse. Then tap the Pulse screen. The app tells you that it will take five live readings and then buzz you. Tap OK. Then app then takes five separate recordings of your pulse.

Sedentary on HeartWatch

Sedentary on HeartWatch
Swipe up the screen to segue to the Sedentary screen. Use this feature to track your heart rate when at rest. Swiping up the screen again brings you back to the Workout screen. Swipe up again to move to the Sleep screen where you can record your heart rate from bedtime to morning. Swipe up once more to move to the Speak screen where you can record a measure or a note. Swiping up again brings you to the screen where you can choose any feature you want to use. When done, open the HeartWatch app on your iPhone to see the historical data on your heart rate.

Heart Analyzer

Heart Analyzer
Heart Analyzer is an effective and free app for showing your heart rate data in a few simple screens. Open the app, and the first screen displays your last measured heart rate along with your average, maximum, and minimum rates. A graph displays your heart rate pattern. Swipe to the next screen to see your heart rate during your past few workouts. The next screen lets you manually trigger a heart rate measure. Press down on the screen and tap the Start button. The app records and displays your heart rate continuously until you press down on the screen again and tap Stop.

Talking Heart Rate

Talking Heart Rate
Here's a helpful app to hear your heart rate if you don't want to keep looking at your watch. Talking Heart Rate does just what its name indicates. It tracks your heart rate and then speaks the rate aloud at certain intervals. Open the app and tap Start to record and hear your heart rate. Swipe to the next screen to see your peak heart rate and to the third screen to change the volume. Open the app on your iPhone and you can change different settings, such as the interval at which the app speaks to you.

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About Lance Whitney

Contributor

I've been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I've written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for CNET as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I've also written two books for Wiley & Sons—Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn.

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