In 1809 he studied medicine at the medical-surgical institute in Zurich, followed by medical studies at the University of Tübingen as a pupil of Johann Heinrich Ferdinand von Autenrieth. While at Tübingen, he also attended lectures in natural sciences given by Carl Friedrich Kielmeyer.
He is remembered for his investigations of Alpine vegetation. Later on, he worked as a physician at the typhus hospital in Rheinau, and from 1814 to 1831, he served as a doctor in the town of Stafa. From 1831 to 1839 he held various posts with the cantonal government in Zürich.
During the so-called Züriputsch of September 6, 1839, as a mediator between government militia and insurrectionists, he was wounded in the head from a bullet fired by the insurgents, and died three days later on September 9.
The botanical genus Hegetschweilera Heer, Regel (1842) commemorates his name, as does taxa with the specific epithet of hegetschweileri.
