Google is working on predicting AFib before it happens

Google is looking at a fairly big next step for smartwatch heart tracking. Instead of simply telling you that an irregular heartbeat has happened, it wants a wearable to work out when another episode might be coming.

A newly published Google patent describes a system that monitors what happens after an initial cardiac arrhythmia event, looks for patterns in subsequent episodes and uses those patterns to predict when another event is likely to occur. The US patent application, numbered US 2026/0294263 A1, was published at the start of this month.

The watch would learn your own pattern

The basic idea is actually pretty simple. A wearable detects an initial cardiac arrhythmia event using its biometric sensors. The patent repeatedly uses atrial fibrillation as an example, although its claims cover cardiac arrhythmias more broadly.

That first event then triggers an observation period. During this window, the wearable continues collecting heart data and records additional arrhythmia…