With Heart Month kicking off, it’s important to bring awareness to the risks of not living a healthy and balanced lifestyle. The latest data from the American Heart Association’s 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics highlights that the US had over 941,650 cardiovascular disease-related deaths in 2022. The study also shows the prevalence of risk factors:
- Hypertension: 47% of US adults have high blood pressure
- Obesity: 72% of US adults have an unhealthy weight (BMI ≥25), with about 42% classified as obese (BMI ≥30)
- Diabetes: More than 57% of US adults have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes
CVD remained the leading cause of death worldwide, followed by stroke. With that in mind, it has become even more important to take care of the heart, including a change of lifestyle, what has been eaten, working out more often, and so on. Fortunately, there are several gadgets that can keep us on the right track by providing accurate information about your body.
Just recently, BGR reported on how Apple Fitness+ and Gentler Streak changed a heart disease patient’s life. Today, we’re highlighting six Apple Watch features that make this device essential for your heart care—and you don’t even have to own the latest Apple Watch Series 10 for that.
Apple Watch features to monitor your heart
Heart Health Notifications: You can enable heart notifications from your Apple Watch by going to the Watch app on your iPhone, Heart, and Cardio Fitness Notifications. If your heart rate remains above or below the chosen beats per minute, your Apple Watch can notify you. Also, the irregular rhythm notification feature will occasionally look at your heartbeat to check for an irregular rhythm that might suggest atrial fibrillation and notify you.
Take an ECG: Starting with the Apple Watch Series 4, you can take an ECG. This FDA-approved technology can help you identify possible atrial fibrillation, a form of irregular heart rhythm. Still, if you’re feeling unwell, it’s recommended that you see a doctor.
Healthy Sleep: With the Sleep app on Apple Watch, you can create sleep schedules to help you meet your sleep goals. When you wear your watch to bed, the Apple Watch can estimate the time you spent in each sleep stage —REM, Core, and Deep—as well as when you might have woken up. With the new Sleep Apnea Notification feature (available for Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later), you can get notified if your breathing disturbances are showing consistent signs of sleep apnea, which can have important health consequences over time, including cardiac disease.
Vitals App and Training Load: With watchOS 11, Apple introduced a new Vitals app that helps you better understand your daily health status. Training Load shows you how to tackle exercising every day based on your health metrics.
Track Your Activity to Help The Heart: The Apple Watch can track your activity and workouts and encourage you to lead a more active life through gentle reminders and friendly competition. The Activity app tracks how often you stand, how much you move, and how many minutes of exercise you do.
Mindfulness App Can Help You Manage Stress: According to Harvard, chronic stress can increase your risk of heart disease. One way of de-stressing is mediation and reflection. The Mindfulness app on Apple Watch encourages you to set aside a few minutes a day to focus, center, and connect as you breathe. Once you complete a Reflect or Breathe session, you can see your heart rate on the summary screen.
Wrap up
Lastly, Apple will offer a limited-edition Apple Watch Award for those who close their Exercise ring on February 14, Valentine’s Day. BGR has even more tips and tricks to improve your Apple Watch usage and care for your heart.
