What Ectopic Atrial Rhythm Looks Like on Your Watch ECG

Key Takeaways

Tell-tale signs of Ectopic Atrial Rhythm include three or more consecutive Premature Atrial Contractions (PACs).
The occasional Ectopic Atrial Rhythm usually isn't a cause for concern, but if it becomes frequent, it can lead to Atrial Fibrillation (Afib).
If you show signs of Ectopic Atrial Rhythm, contact your healthcare provider immediately to rule out the presence of harmful underlying conditions.

Tell-tale signs of Ectopic Atrial Rhythm include three or more consecutive Premature Atrial Contractions (PACs).
The occasional Ectopic Atrial Rhythm usually isn't a cause for concern, but if it becomes frequent, it can lead to Atrial Fibrillation (Afib).
If you show signs of Ectopic Atrial Rhythm, contact your healthcare provider immediately to rule out the presence of harmful underlying conditions.

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Introduction

Hello, heart hero. In your quest to identify that irregular heart rhythm you just felt, you may have come across the term Ectopic Atrial Rhythm, or EAR. With your trusty watch ECG now in hand, you may be wondering, "What does Ectopic Atrial Rhythm look like on my watch ECG?" In this guide, we'll help you see Ectopic Atrial Rhythm on your watch ECG. Let's dive in.

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What's Ectopic Atrial Rhythm?

Before trying to identify Ectopic Atrial Rhythm on your ECG, it's helpful to remind yourself what Ectopic Atrial Rhythm actually is. (If you're confident in your Ectopic Atrial Rhythm knowledge, though, skip on ahead to the next section for some visual examples of an EAR ECG).

To start, remember how your heart beats? It produces an electrical signal, which squeezes and unsqueezes your heart, which in turn pumps your blood to your lungs for oxygen and then out to the rest of your body.

Normally, your heart produces that electrical signal from your "sinus node" to generate a Normal Sinus Rhythm. Sometimes, however, that electrical signal starts from somewhere else in your heart, where it isn't supposed to. In the case of Ectopic Atrial Rhythm, that electrical signal starts in your heart's upper chambers, or atria. Since "ectopic" means abnormal, and abnormal heartbeats are generated in your atria, we get "Ectopic Atrial Rhythm."

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So What Does Ectopic Atrial Rhythm Look Like on My Watch ECG?

To identify Ectopic Atrial Rhythm on your ECG, look for these tell-tale signs:

A normal heart rate, between 60 and 100 beats-per-minute (bpm).
Three or more consecutive Premature Atrial Contractions (PACs).
Because of PACs, a premature P wave, usually with a different shape compared to the other P waves on your ECG. They can be wider, taller, narrower, or shorter, even upside-down, depending on where in the atria the PACs are coming from.
A normal QRS interval between 0.08 and 0.12 seconds long.

For visual examples, take a look at Ectopic Atrial Rhythm seen on Qaly members' watch ECGs.

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Here's Ectopic Atrial Rhythm caught on a Qaly member's Apple Watch ECG. Notice the consecutive PACs.

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Here are another few Ectopic Atrial Rhythm episodes caught on a Qaly member's Apple Watch ECG. Notice the runs of Ectopic Atrial Rhythm across this ECG, with one PAC Couplet between the 17s mark and the 18s mark. Notice, too, that the Apple Watch ECG app incorrectly labeled this as an Atrial Fibrillation ECG.

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Here's another Ectopic Atrial Rhythm caught on a Qaly member's Fitbit watch ECG as a Fitbit Inconclusive ECG. See those four consecutive PACs?

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Is Ectopic Atrial Rhythm a Cause for Concern?

For most people, a few consecutive PACs isn't dangerous. However, if your PACs happen frequently, over a long period of time, or if your symptoms worsen, your risk of Afib and other heart conditions increases.

As always, if you know how to read an ECG strip and/or you show signs of Ectopic Atrial Rhythm, contact your healthcare provider immediately to rule out the presence of harmful underlying conditions.

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Conclusion

Well, that just about wraps up our guide on what Ectopic Atrial Rhythm looks like on your watch ECG. We hope this could be of some help to you.

If you still need help interpreting your ECGs, don't worry, we understand how scary and confusing it can be to experience irregular heartbeats. That's why we created the Qaly app for you and for the hundreds of millions of people around the world who live with heart palpitations and abnormal heart rhythms. On the Qaly app, human experts will interpret your ECGs within minutes for clarity and peace of mind.

To get started with the Qaly app for free, grab the Qaly app from the App Store or Play Store today. If you have any more questions, or if you need our help in any other way, don't hesitate to reach out to us at support@qaly.co.

As always from the team at Qaly, stay heart healthy ❤️