World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes Sept. 29 as World Heart Day. It is a reminder that the choices we make today can make a meaningful difference tomorrow.

These choices don’t have to be big. From choosing when to go to bed to making time for even just 30 minutes of exercise, the small choices we make every day add up to a healthier lifestyle. The good news is that Samsung Galaxy Watch can help you make proactive prevention part of daily life. By monitoring your sleep, activity level, stress and blood pressure, Galaxy Watch helps you better understand what’s happening in your body.

Understanding Your Body at a Glance: Heart Health Score

The American Heart Association recommends looking at Life’s Essential 8[1] as key measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health: diet, exercise, sleep, weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and smoking cessation. But knowing what matters raises an important question: how do these factors change the choices we make every day?

Samsung Health’s Heart Health Score[2] is designed to help you in this journey. It tracks and analyzes indicators such as sleep duration, daily activity level, body composition and vascular load,[3] converting them into a single, simple score that anyone can intuitively understand and follow.

Think about what happens if you miss your daily exercise for a few days: your Galaxy Watch recognizes your moderate-to-high intensity activity level has decreased, reflects this change in a lower Heart Health Score, and makes a recommendation to go for a run. With convenient insights right from your wrist, Galaxy Watch delivers personalized insights that make it easier to recognize changes, understand your habits, and take the next step toward healthier ones.

Galaxy Watch and Samsung Health provide effortless understanding of cardiovascular wellness through the Heart Health Score (Image simulated for illustrative purposes. Actual UX/UI may be different.)

Advanced Sensor Technology: From Measurement to Meaning

Samsung Galaxy Watches are equipped with an advanced BioActive Sensor which integrates three precision sensors in one: an optical heart rate sensor (PPG), an electrocardiogram sensor (ECG),[4] and a bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor (BIA).

With calibration just once every four weeks using a home blood pressure monitor, you can easily check your blood pressure[5] from your wrist anytime, anywhere. When you place your finger on the watch’s side electrode for just 30 seconds, the watch measures an electrocardiogram to detect signs of abnormal heartbeats like atrial fibrillation or ectopic beats. The Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification (IHRN)[6] feature, which detects abnormal heart signals, monitors the user’s heart rhythm throughout the day and provides a proactive notification if abnormal signs are repeated.

Galaxy Watch supports heart rhythm monitoring through irregular heart rhythm notifications and ECG readings. (Image simulated for illustrative purposes. Actual UX/UI may be different.)

Around-the-Clock Care: How Galaxy Watch Proactively Monitors Your Wellness

Your heart is a constant you can count on, and it works whether you’re awake or asleep. When you wear your Galaxy Watch to sleep, it analyzes five major vital signs: heart rate during sleep, heart rate variability,[7] respiratory rate, skin temperature and blood oxygen saturation. These signals are compared against your personal baseline.

When you wake up, your Galaxy Watch will send a notification if it detects meaningful deviations from your baseline. By highlighting meaningful changes early, it gives you an opportunity to rest and recover.[8]

Galaxy Watch and Samsung Health give users a clear view of their sleep quality with detailed metrics and insights they can use to improve their sleep habits. (Image simulated for illustrative purposes. Actual UX/UI may be different.)

Heart to Heart: Connected Care That Adds Peace of Mind

Looking after your own heart is only one side of the story. From parents to partners, siblings to grandparents or even friends, the burden of caring for the hearts of those around you weighs heavily. Samsung Health’s Health Data Sharing[9] function lightens the load by sharing agreed-upon data items (number of steps, blood pressure, heart rate, medication adherence, etc.) with loved ones in real time.

You can check if your parents who live far away have completed their daily walk or taken their prescribed medication on time, just as if you were right there with them.

Samsung Health lets users share selected health data with loved ones, helping them stay connected and informed about one another’s wellbeing. (Image simulated for illustrative purposes. Actual UX/UI may be different.)

Start managing your heart health with Galaxy Watch, a reliable wellness partner that stays with you around the clock.

[1] Source: American Heart Association (AHA), “Life’s Essential 8” (2022).

[2] Heart Health Score on Galaxy Watch9 is available on Android phones (Android 13 or above) and requires the Samsung Health app v7.0 or above. Samsung account login required. To calculate Heart Health Score, data on related lifestyle factors — including sleep time, BMI, vascular load and moderate to vigorous activity time — must be collected. Heart Health Score is for fitness and wellness only. If you’ve been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease or are recovering from surgery, be sure to follow your healthcare professional’s treatment plan. Heart health is intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. Not intended for use in detection, diagnosis, treatment of any medical condition or sleep disorder. The measurements are for your personal reference only. Please consult a medical professional for advice.

[3] Vascular Load is available on Android phones (Android 13 or above) and requires the Samsung Health app (V6.30.2 or above). Samsung account login is required. To measure vascular load, it is required to wear Galaxy Watch (Galaxy Watch Ultra, Watch8 and later release Galaxy Watch series) when sleeping for at least 3 days out of recent 14 days. Vascular load monitoring is for fitness and wellness only. If you have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease or are recovering from surgery, be sure to follow your doctor’s treatment plan. Not intended for use in detection, diagnosis, treatment of any medical condition or diseases. This is a Labs feature that you can preview before its official launch. If you don’t want to use this feature, you can turn if off in Samsung Health settings.

[4] For accurate blood pressure readings, a calibration is required every 4 weeks by a blood pressure monitor and arm cuff. Requires a Galaxy smartphone running Android 10.0 or above. The Blood Pressure feature is not intended for use by people under 22 years old or who are pregnant. It is not intended to replace traditional methods for diagnosis or treatment of hypertension. It cannot be used to diagnose hypertension, other conditions, or check for signs of a heart attack. Users should not interpret or take clinical action based on the device output without consultation with a qualified healthcare professional and validation with a standard measurement method. Results displayed are for informational purposes only. Please consult a medical professional for advice. UI may vary depending on the software version, country, or region. For full terms and conditions of use, please refer to the Instructions for Use on your device.

The ECG and IHRN feature has received a Medical Device License from Health Canada as of April 2024.

[5] For accurate blood pressure readings, a calibration is required every 4 weeks by a blood pressure monitor and arm cuff. Requires a Galaxy smartphone running Android 10.0 or above. The Blood Pressure feature is not intended for use by people under 22 years old or who are pregnant. It is not intended to replace traditional methods for diagnosis or treatment of hypertension. It cannot be used to diagnose hypertension, other conditions, or check for signs of a heart attack. Users should not interpret or take clinical action based on the device output without consultation with a qualified healthcare professional and validation with a standard measurement method. Results displayed are for informational purposes only. Please consult a medical professional for advice. UI may vary depending on the software version, country, or region. For full terms and conditions of use, please refer to the Instructions for Use on your device. Requires Samsung Health application

The Blood Pressure feature has received a Medical Device License from Health Canada as of December 2021.

[6] IHRN is a component of the ECG feature. Make sure your Galaxy Watch has been updated to the latest software version. The information gathered from your watch, the Samsung Health Monitor app, or related software is not intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent any diseases or other conditions. The ECG feature is not intended for users under 22 years of age or with known arrhythmias, other than atrial fibrillation. It cannot be used to diagnose cardiac conditions or look for signs of a heart attack. Users should not interpret or take clinical action based on the device output without consultation with a qualified healthcare professional. Results displayed are for informational purposes only. Please consult a medical professional for advice. UI may vary depending on the software version, country, or region. For full terms and conditions of use, please refer to the Instructions for Use on your device.

The ECG and IHRN feature has received a Medical Device License from Health Canada as of April 2024.

[7] Heart Rate Variability (HRV) feature analyzes minute-to-minute variations in the intervals between heartbeats to show autonomic nervous system balance. It is automatically recorded during sleep and resting states.

[8] Heart Health Score and Vitals features are supported on the Samsung Health app (version 7.0 or higher).

[9] Health Data Sharing feature requires user consent, and users can independently choose which health data to share (including steps, workouts, sleep, weight, body composition, food intake, heart rate, stress, blood pressure, blood glucose, medication and vital signs).

A team of students from Memorial University of Newfoundland have been crowned the winners of the 2021 Samsung Solve For Tomorrow Project Accelerator Best Project Award, a unique competition that encourages innovative thinking, creative problem-solving and teamwork by encouraging students to resolve the social issues affecting their community through innovative applications of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The Enactus team from Memorial University created HeartStarter – a project that aims to help provide services and information to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador surrounding Heart Health. HeartStarter is a three-pillared project, consisting of drone-powered AED delivery for patients experiencing cardiac arrest, the establishment of a publicly accessible AED registry that would be connected with the 911 provincial system, allowing operators to direct callers to the closest AED in case of emergency, and the promotion of a healthier lifestyle through heart health education sessions.

The project team conducted education sessions with over 1000 students in 41 classrooms across four provinces. Over the course of the year, the team has made significant progress; over 3650 people have now downloaded the PulsePoint AED app. They launched their pilot in the town of Holyrood where 2500 residents have been benefited from HeartStarter and are currently in talks to launch in Torbay and Corner Brook, two of the largest communities in the province.

“Being recognized by a prestigious organization such as Samsung reinforces our commitment to HeartStarter, and it helps us prove the need and importance of our project. We aim to use Samsung’s guidance and prize money to further expand our project by focusing on the development of a financial plan to ensure its sustainability and expansion,” said Diego Hernandez, President, Enactus Memorial University.

Samsung provided $45,000 in cash and technology funding to Enactus teams that were selected to participate in the year-long competition. Memorial University, who beat out six other projects in this year-long competition, was awarded the ‘Best Project’ award at the 2021 Enactus Canada National Exposition.

“At Samsung, we believe in empowering future generations to achieve their full potential, enabling them to pioneer positive social change and build a better world. We are inspired by what the Memorial University students have accomplished and how they have embraced technology as a force for good,” said Jennifer Groh, Senior Director, Corporate Marketing and Citizenship, Samsung Canada.

About Solve For Tomorrow

Launched in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow was designed to increase interest and proficiency in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education, and to encourage young people to apply STEM in finding creative solutions to solve challenges and address risks faced in their local communities to build a better tomorrow.