Instalab ResearchGarmin heart rate monitors use two main technologies:
The company’s higher-end models, like the Garmin Fenix and Forerunner series, are capable of continuous tracking of heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), and in some models, blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂). These metrics are useful not only for exercise monitoring but also for identifying abnormal physiological patterns.
Accuracy is the first hurdle when considering whether Garmin monitors can detect early signs of heart problems. Research shows that Garmin’s optical heart rate sensors are fairly reliable, but not flawless.
A validation study comparing Garmin’s Vivosmart HR+ with a chest strap ECG found mean absolute percentage errors below 5% in young and older adults, suggesting acceptable accuracy during exercise. However, the same study reported occasional outlier readings, which could mislead users if interpreted as health warnings.
In post-operative patients, continuous heart rate monitoring with Garmin Fenix devices was shown to be accurate, with mean error rates of around 2% compared to hospital monitors. However, respiratory rate and blood oxygen saturation were much less reliable, indicating that only heart rate data should be trusted clinically.
When compared with other consumer wearables in cardiac rehabilitation patients, Garmin devices underperformed relative to the Apple Watch and Fitbit in accuracy during certain exercise conditions. This suggests that while Garmin provides valuable continuous data, its role in clinical monitoring must be considered cautiously.
In short, Garmin devices are sufficiently accurate for general use, but they are not equivalent to medical-grade monitors, particularly for detecting subtle abnormalities.
One of the most promising aspects of Garmin devices is their ability to measure HRV, a marker of autonomic nervous system balance. HRV has been linked to cardiovascular health and can serve as an early warning indicator of conditions ranging from arrhythmias to stress-induced cardiac events.
A recent study using Garmin Fenix devices demonstrated the feasibility of continuously monitoring HRV and detecting deviations associated with viral infections such as influenza and COVID-19. While this work focused on infectious illness, it highlights that wearables can identify anomalies before clinical symptoms appear. The same principle could apply to cardiovascular problems.
Further, high-resolution HRV metrics collected via Garmin devices in free-living conditions have been shown to provide insights into stress responses, cardiac workload, and early disease detection potential. These findings support the idea that Garmin monitors may be valuable as continuous, non-invasive early warning systems.
Arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation (AFib) are among the most important conditions to detect early. Left untreated, AFib significantly increases the risk of stroke and heart failure. Can Garmin monitors identify such irregularities?
Most Garmin devices do not yet include FDA-cleared ECG capabilities like the Apple Watch. Instead, they rely on PPG, which is less precise for rhythm analysis. Research indicates that wearable devices augmented with machine learning can classify arrhythmias with very high accuracy, sometimes exceeding 95%. While Garmin has not implemented such algorithms at scale, ongoing development suggests that integration may be possible in the near future.
Experimental systems built on wearable platforms have already shown success in arrhythmia detection. For instance, FPGA-based wearable designs achieved over 99% accuracy in real-time arrhythmia monitoring. If Garmin’s hardware is paired with such algorithms, its devices could move from fitness trackers to diagnostic tools.
Perhaps the most ambitious claim about wearable monitors is their potential role in predicting heart attacks. Studies confirm that continuous monitoring of vital signs such as heart rate and blood pressure, combined with artificial intelligence, can detect early warning signs of myocardial infarction.
Advanced prototypes using wearable sensors, IoT connectivity, and deep learning have achieved accuracies above 95% in detecting early cardiovascular disease indicators. Garmin devices, equipped with high-resolution HR and HRV sensors, could theoretically support such systems.
Still, it is critical to emphasize that Garmin’s current commercial devices do not offer validated heart attack prediction features. They can monitor stress, track anomalies in HRV, and provide warnings of unusual activity patterns, but medical-grade validation for myocardial infarction detection is lacking.
Despite these limitations, the continuous nature of Garmin monitoring offers an advantage over traditional one-time medical assessments. For chronic disease management, early warnings, and trend monitoring, Garmin devices may provide complementary data to physicians.
Looking ahead, the integration of artificial intelligence and cloud-based analytics will likely expand the role of Garmin monitors in cardiovascular care. Already, research shows that IoT-enabled wearables paired with machine learning can provide real-time abnormality detection with high sensitivity.
For Garmin, which has strong hardware capabilities and long battery life, the next step may be software enhancements. If AI-powered arrhythmia detection algorithms are integrated into Garmin Connect, users could receive medically relevant alerts in real time.
Moreover, as telehealth platforms become more widespread, Garmin data could be shared seamlessly with physicians. Remote patient monitoring has already been shown to improve outcomes in cardiovascular disease by enabling early intervention. Integrating Garmin data into such systems could close the gap between consumer fitness and clinical care.
So, can a Garmin heart rate monitor detect early signs of heart problems? The evidence suggests that Garmin devices can provide valuable signals that may indicate abnormal cardiovascular patterns, particularly through continuous monitoring of heart rate and HRV. However, their accuracy is not perfect, and they cannot yet replace medical diagnostics like ECG.
In practice, Garmin monitors can serve as useful early warning tools, alerting users to changes that may warrant medical evaluation. They are not diagnostic devices, but they are part of an evolving ecosystem where consumer wearables, artificial intelligence, and telehealth converge to advance preventive cardiology.
The real promise lies not in the Garmin device itself but in how its continuous data can be analyzed, interpreted, and integrated into broader healthcare systems. With ongoing improvements in sensor technology, AI, and regulatory validation, Garmin heart rate monitors may eventually become trusted tools in detecting cardiovascular disease before it becomes life-threatening.
