What Paced Rhythm Looks Like on Your Watch ECG

Key Takeaways

The tell-tale sign of Paced Rhythm is straight vertical lines called "pacer spikes."
There are risks associated with using a watch ECG while wearing a pacemaker, so, first things first, ask your healthcare provider if it's safe to wear your watch ECG if you're wearing a pacemaker.
Paced Rhythm itself isn't a cause for concern. It's simply the heart rhythm that happens when your pacemaker is doing its job to manage your heartbeat.

The tell-tale sign of Paced Rhythm is straight vertical lines called "pacer spikes."
There are risks associated with using a watch ECG while wearing a pacemaker, so, first things first, ask your healthcare provider if it's safe to wear your watch ECG if you're wearing a pacemaker.
Paced Rhythm itself isn't a cause for concern. It's simply the heart rhythm that happens when your pacemaker is doing its job to manage your heartbeat.

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Introduction

Hello, heart hero. In your quest to understand how your pacemaker affects your heart's rhythm, you may have come across the term Paced Rhythm. With your trusty watch ECG now in hand, you may be wondering, "What does Paced Rhythm look like on my watch ECG?" In this guide, we'll help you see Paced Rhythm on your watch ECG. Let's dive in.

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What's Paced Rhythm?

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

With Paced Rhythm, that electrical signal isn't produced by your heart. Instead, it's produced by your implanted pacemaker.

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Is It Safe to Wear a Watch ECG With a Pacemaker?

Paced Rhythm is unique compared to other abnormal heart rhythms, because there's a risk with using a watch ECG if you've installed a pacemaker. The electromagnet in your watch can interfere with your pacemaker’s electrical signals, causing it to work less effectively or even stop working altogether. Before using the ECG function on your watch, make sure to discuss if it's safe to do so with your healthcare provider.

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So What Does Paced Rhythm Look Like on My Watch ECG?

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

Straight vertical lines, called "pacer spikes." These pacer spikes happen when your pacemaker activates, causing your heart to beat.
A heart rate between 60 and 100 beats-per-minute (bpm).
A normal or prolonged PR interval.
A normal or wide QRS complex.
If there is a spike before your P wave, then your heart's upper chamber, or atrium, is paced. This means you have an atrial pacemaker.
If there is a spike before your QRS complex, then your heart's lower chamber, or ventricle, is paced. This means you have a ventricular pacemaker.

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

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Here's Paced Rhythm caught on a Qaly member's Apple Watch ECG. Notice those straight vertical lines, or pacer spikes. Pop quiz time: would you say this Qaly member is wearing an atrial pacemaker or a ventricular pacemaker?

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Here's another Paced Rhythm caught on a Qaly member's Apple Watch ECG. Unrelated to Paced Rhythm, we see a Premature Atrial Contraction (PAC), too.

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Here's another Paced Rhythm caught on a Qaly member's Samsung watch ECG and interpreted by cardiographic technicians on the Qaly app (on App Store or Play Store). Notice those pacer spikes, the tell-tale sign of a Paced Rhythm. Unrelated to Paced Rhythm, we see two Premature Atrial Contractions (PACs), too.

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Is Paced Rhythm a Cause for Concern?

Paced Rhythm itself isn't a cause for concern. It's simply the heart rhythm that happens when your pacemaker is doing its job to manage your heartbeat.

If your pacemaker malfunctions, though, then there's cause for concern. Symptoms of pacemaker malfunction include fainting, passing out, dizziness, slow heart rate, fast heart rate, and palpitations. If you're wearing a pacemaker and you experience any of these symptoms, or if you believe that your pacemaker is malfunctioning in any way, contact your healthcare provider immediately.

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Conclusion

Well, that just about wraps up our guide on what Paced 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 ❤️