Korea-based company Samsung has announced its plans to bring irregular heart rhythm notifications (IRHN) to 13 different markets around the world.

Samsung devices have been trailing Apple, which released IHRN on its wearable devices back in 2018.

The IHRN feature will now give Samsung users the ability to monitor arrhythmia with notifications and allow them to detect atrial fibrillation (AFib), a condition that affects 2% of the world’s population.

The planned rollout of this feature comes after it received approval from the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). In May 2023, the IHRN feature was also approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The IHRN feature will be introduced to 13 markets, which include Argentina, Azerbaijan, Korea and the US.

The feature will join existing Samsung Health Monitor app functions such as observation of blood pressure and electrocardiogram (ECG).

It will initially be introduced on the One UI 5 Watch software update and will be later available in previous editions.

Expressing his excitement for innovation of the Galaxy Watch, Samsung Electronics vice-president and digital health team head Hon Pak said: “Cardiovascular disease remains one of the main causes of death around the world, and we’re committed to empowering our users to stay informed about their heart health by providing monitoring tools, including blood pressure measurement and irregular heart rhythm notification.”

Since its inception in 2020, the Samsung Health Monitor app is now available in 74 international markets and has supported its 150 million Galaxy Watch users to track their heart health.