22-04-2025
Garmin Fenix And Venu 3 Owners Get A New Health Feature
Garmin ECG app
Garmin has unlocked one of its newest features for owners of select watches in the UK and Switzerland, ECG readings.
The ECG electrocardiogram feature came to the first Garmin watch in 2023, the Venu 2 Plus, and has finally come to UK users.
A handful more watches since have offered ECG-ready hardware, but far from all the models Garmin has released since 2023. These are the watches on the guest list:
This news follows Garmin's ECG feature spreading to EU countries and Australia in January 2025.
If you own a slightly older Garmin watch, or a lower-end one not on the list, you may be wondering why you miss out.
The ECG feature doesn't rely on the same hardware used for a Garmin watch's everyday heart rate readings. There's an additional set of metallic panels on the rear HR sensor array, only seen in the latest and most advanced version of Garmin's Elevate heart rate hardware.
This alone is an important clue as to how Garmin ECG works. To take a reading, you place thumb and forefinger on the watch's metal bezel. It effectively completes a circuit through your body, to those contacts resting on your wrist, to allow the hardware to monitor the electrical signals running through your body.
It's an effective way for consumer-grade wearables to monitor for signs of arrhythmia, which can be indicative of serious heart health issues.
'During the early stages of AFib, it's common for symptoms to be infrequent, making it difficult to detect in a clinical setting,' says Susan Lyman, Garmin Vice President Consumer Sales & Marketing.
One part that may make those without a compatible watch feel less like they're missing out is that Garmin ECG, like other versions of this feature, does require active participation. You need to take 30 seconds or so to deliberately take a reading.
Not in the UK or Switzerland? Those in the U.S., Europe, and other countries detailed on the Garmin website, can get access to ECG by setting the feature up in the Garmin Connect app on the connected phone.
If this is all old news, you might be more interested in details of Garmin's latest beta software release for Garmin's latest top-end watches, including the Fenix 8.
Version 15.23 adds a Multisport category to the Activity list, and introduces an 'arrival alert' when navigating using the watch. However, using the beta software will also disable access to ECG readings, so you may want to wait for the final release of the software instead.
