All about HEA Files

The HEA file type is primarily associated with WFDB.

HEA	File extension: HEA
	File type:	header file

What is a HEA file?

HEA files mostly belong to WFDB. HEA files are header files used in biomedical signal processing, especially for ECG recordings. They store the essential metadata that defines the structure of the associated waveform data.

Data Content: These files record basic signal parameters such as sampling rate, channel configuration, and calibration details.

Application: They are integral to WFDB-based software, ensuring that the corresponding data file is interpreted correctly.

Variations: While most commonly an ECG header, they can also include information for EMG and electrohysterogram or other physiological signals.

FilExt.com tip: Open these files using WFDB utilities or a text editor if the content is in plain text. For further details, check out the WFDB website or visit PhysioNet.

How do you open HEA files?

You need a suitable software like WFDB to open a HEA file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your HEA file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a HEA file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online HEA Text Viewer

Choose your .hea file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

✈

Read our privacy guarantee in Filext’s terms and privacy policy

Please allow ads on our site

This helps us keep our servers running. Then re-upload your file to view it.

Click here to see how to disable the ad blocker for filext.com

How to extract texts from HEA files or capture a screenshot to PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...

If you want to extract texts from HEA file or capture a screenshot, you can use our free Online HEA File Viewer:

To do so, click the "Choose your .hea file to view" button above.
After your file is opened in browser,
click "Save as..." in the menu.
Then choose the file format (e.g. JPG, PDF, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
Download the converted file.

Programs that open and convert HEA files:

WFDB
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. HEA files are often referred to as WFDB data files because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
Fifa 2001
This file format is classified as Game.

HEA format details:

A file format defines how the data in the file is structured. Each file format has a unique extension and almost always a unique signature. For example, Microsoft Word documents have the extension .docx and the signature (usually the first 3 characters in this file) PK. File extension, signature and file format must match; otherwise errors will occur when the file is opened. So you need a detailed analysis of a file to find out the format and the associated program. Our evaluation of the HEA files looks like this:

The HEA extension is very commonly used. This HEA file itself is among the most popular common file types and includes very many different file formats. However, the following two file formats are common:

10% of all HEA files use the same file format, which can be identified by the letters "10" at the beginning. These files are text files, so they contain words and text. A typical file size is 140 bytes. The file type was created 20 years ago but is still used today. The following keywords are characteristic: # 69 M 1085 1629 x1, # Aldomet, Inderal, 100 2 360 650000 and 100.dat 212 200 11 1024 1011 20052 0 V5. The file name 100.hea or 1001.hea is typical for these files.
10% of all HEA files start with the magic bytes 00, which are always the first bytes of this file format. These files are plain text, which means they can be viewed with any text editor such as Windows Editor, Nano for Linux, and TextEdit for macOS. The files are 83 bytes to 600 bytes in size, with a median of 84 bytes. The keywords A00001.mat 16+24 1000/mV 16 0 -127 0 0 ECG and A00001 1 300 9000 05:05:15 1/05/2000 are typical for these files. A usual file name is A00001.hea or A00002.hea.

The remaining 80% of all HEA files are different files with different signatures, the following 40 formats exist: rec, drive, tpehg, Subject, Jun, nsr, als and ARR. These files sometimes refer to subject, tempeda, infant, aami, resistance or bike. You can get all the details of your HEA file by dragging it onto this page or by clicking the button "Choose your .hea file to view" above.

Technical Data for HEA File Extension

File classification:

Data

Related files:

info, mat, atr, dat, hea-, xws, qrs, ecg, zip, records, rit, let, annotators, wav, apn, txt, gz, acc, bin, ts, rdt, dua, tbi, 01, csv, xml

a hea header file is a special file format and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with HEA files

Associate the HEA file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open header files. Because only the current version supports the latest HEA file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the manufacturer website after an available WFDB update.
To make sure that your HEA file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .HEA file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.