Earlier this week, Apple rolled out the hypertension notifications feature on the Apple Watch in India. This means if
your Apple wearable detects signs of chronic high blood pressure, it can now alert you with a notification. While the
Apple Watch isn’t a medical device or a substitute for a doctor, these alerts can be crucial because hypertension
frequently goes undiagnosed.
According to an Apple India press release, 1.3 billion adults globally are impacted by hypertension, which is the
leading modifiable risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease. It often presents no symptoms and can be
easily missed with a single clinical measurement.
Apple states that its hypertension notifications are “grounded in rigorous scientific validation.” The feature was
developed using training data from multiple studies involving over 100,000 participants and advanced machine learning.
Its performance was subsequently validated in a clinical study of over 2,000 participants.
The new Apple Watch feature uses data from its optical heart sensor to analyze how your blood vessels respond to each
heartbeat. Its algorithm works passively in the background and reviews data over 30-day periods. If it detects
consistent signs of hypertension within that window, it will notify you.
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Apple notes that while the feature might not detect every instance of the hypertension but it is expected to notify over
one million people with undiagnosed hypertension within the first year.
“Hypertension is one of the most widespread yet underdiagnosed health conditions. Integrating opportunistic detection
into a device people already wear daily will democratise access for early detection and help people have more informed
conversations with their doctors,” said Professor Dorairaj Prabhakaran, Executive Director of the Centre for Chronic
Disease Control and President-Elect of the World Heart Federation.
If you receive a hypertension notification, Apple recommends logging your blood pressure for seven days using a
third-party blood pressure cuff and sharing the results with a healthcare professional. The feature is not intended for
use by people under 22 years old, those who are pregnant, or anyone previously diagnosed with hypertension.
How To Turn On Hypertension Notifications On Apple Watch
The hypertension notifications feature is available on the Apple Watch Series 9 or later and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 or
later. You will also need to pair it an iPhone 11 or later, and both devices must be running the latest software
versions. To enable the feature: