March 30, 2026

Health trackers and smart wearables track more than just how many steps you take. They can now bring heart health into everyday life by helping identify patterns in your heart rate, rhythm, activity and sleep in a way that feels personal, practical and actionable, while also helping highlight possible heart health concerns early.

Francoise Marvel, M.D., a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and co-director of the Digital Health Lab, shares insights about what health trackers can and can’t do, and how to best use them to monitor your heart health.

“What makes health trackers so powerful is that they put meaningful heart health insights on your wrist. They help my patients stay connected to their cardiovascular health through heart rate trends, rhythm notifications and shareable data — transforming everyday moments into opportunities for greater awareness, prevention and more personalized care,” notes Marvel.

What can health trackers do?

It’s important to know what smart wearables can and can’t do so that you can make the most of their features and have a better understanding of when to seek medical attention for a health issue. There are many different models and applications available to consumers, so if you are considering buying a health tracker, choose one that offers the features that will best help you reach your heart health goals. Most health trackers can track the following:

• Fitness during workouts, including:
  • Heart rate
  • Calories burned
  • Average heart rate
  • How quickly your heart rate returns to normal exercise (which can indicate fitness levels and recovery)

“During workouts, wearables can track real-time exercise data such as heart rate, calories, distance, pace and heart rate zones, and on supported workouts, they can provide more advanced metrics like cadence, running power, swim sets, cycling power and multisport performance,” Marvel adds.

• General heart health: 

Wearables can track your heart rate and alert you to unusually high or low rates, which may indicate stress, overtraining or other issues over time. 

• Heart rate monitoring: continuous heart rate tracking throughout the day and during activities. This includes resting heart rate and active heart rate during exercise.
• Heart rate variability (HRV): measurement of the variation in time between heartbeats, which can provide insights into stress levels and overall cardiovascular health.
• Blood oxygen levels (SpO2): monitoring of the oxygen saturation levels in the blood, which can be an indicator of respiratory and cardiac health.
• Hypertension notification: feature that analyzes watch-collected pulse to identify patterns suggestive of hypertension and notify the user.
• AFib detection: Some models have ECG features that measure the heart’s electrical activity. This can detect signs of AFib, an irregular heartbeat that can increase the risk of stroke. These features are also useful to patients who already have symptoms of AFib and want to monitor their heart rates. These readings should be shared with a doctor. 

• Health trends: They can show you trends in your heart rate, sleep patterns and activity levels over time, which can be helpful for you and your doctor to understand your overall health. 

• Sleep apnea notification: features that analyze wearable sensor data to identify patterns of breathing disturbance suggestive of moderate-to-severe sleep apnea and notify the user. Learn more about what sleep trackers can do.

In addition to these tracking abilities, some smart wearables have the ability to sense when your pulse stops, which triggers an emergency call to 911. They can also recognize falls, crashes and extended inactivity.

What can’t health trackers do?

Provide a Medical Diagnosis

Smart trackers are not a substitute for medical diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. However, health trackers can provide useful heart health insights and may prompt earlier evaluation and lifestyle changes, but it is not a substitute for medical diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, if needed.

Be a Substitute for Emergency Care

In the event of a medical emergency, such as chest pain, do not rely on your health tracker. Seek immediate medical attention by calling emergency services or going to an emergency department. 

How to Use Your Health Tracker Data to Stay Heart Healthy

It can feel overwhelming when you first start collecting data from your health tracker. What should you focus on? Here are four measurements to track over time and what they mean.

“The advantage of measuring heart data over time with health trackers is that it provides context,” explains Marvel. “Trends are often more informative than any single reading and can help patients and clinicians have more-informed conversations about cardiovascular health status, recovery and resilience. For example, a single heart rate reading may not mean much on its own, but patterns in resting heart rate, heart rate variability, recovery after exercise and sleep can offer valuable insight into overall cardiovascular health.”

• Resting heart rate (RHR): If your resting heart rate slowly decreases over time, it usually reflects better heart fitness. A sudden jump in heart rate that stays elevated can signal stress, illness or pushing your body too hard.
• Heart rate variability (HRV): This shows how much time varies between each heartbeat. Higher HRV generally means your body is well‑recovered and handling stress well. Lower HRV can be a sign that you need more rest.
• Heart rate recovery (HRR): This measures how fast your heart rate falls after you stop exercising. Dropping by about 18 beats or more in the first minute is a sign of strong cardiovascular health.
• Maximum heart rate (Training Zone): Maximum heart rate (MHR) is generally calculated as 220 minus your age. For a 40-year-old, the MHR is 180 bpm, with a 90–153 bpm target range. This helps you exercise effectively without overdoing it.

These are just some of the ways that your data can inform your health. Having a dialogue with your doctor about your tracker results and what they mean for your individualized health plan is key.

How to Share Heart Data from a Health Tracker with Your Doctor

Sharing heart data from your health tracker with your doctors is usually straightforward, and doing it can give them a clearer picture of your overall heart health.

“We can build on this data in our visits to support earlier awareness and drive more-informed conversations about cardiovascular health,” shares Marvel.

The exact steps depend on your device, but the process generally follows a few simple paths:

• Export a report from your health app. Most smart wearables sync to a companion app. These apps often let you create a PDF or summary report of your heart data. For example, your health care provider may use an app that has hypertension and blood pressure tracking features.
• Share data directly through a patient portal. Some health systems allow you to connect your wearable data directly to your electronic health record. If your provider uses a platform like MyChart, you may be able to link your smart wearables account.
• Show your doctor the graphs or readings during the visit. Open the heart rate or ECG section on your watch or phone during your visit.

Medically reviewed by Francoise Marvel, M.D.