Apple(AAPL) has received landmark clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a breakthrough health feature that turns its smartwatch into a proactive hypertension monitoring tool. This advancement enables the device to identify signs of chronic high blood pressure, a major contributor to heart disease and stroke that often presents no symptoms. By leveraging existing sensor technology in a new way, Apple is expanding the watch’s role as a guardian of cardiovascular health.
The feature operates continuously in the background by analyzing photoplethysmography (PPG) signals from the optical heart sensor, which measure changes in blood volume beneath the skin. Over rolling 30-day periods, a sophisticated algorithm reviews how the user’s blood vessels respond to heartbeats. If it identifies consistent patterns associated with hypertension, the watch delivers a “Possible Hypertension” alert. This seamless process requires no user initiation, calibration, or direct blood pressure readings from the device.
This innovation is built upon a foundation of extensive clinical research. Apple developed the algorithm using machine learning trained on data from more than 100,000 participants, ensuring it accounts for diversity in age, race, and body type. Its accuracy was further confirmed in a pivotal clinical study where results from the watch were compared against traditional blood pressure cuffs in over 2,000 subjects. This rigorous validation underscores the reliability of the notifications.
Upon receiving an alert, users can view detailed trends in the Health app on their iPhone, where they can also manually log blood pressure readings from external cuffs to share with their doctors.
This integrated system closes the loop between detection and action, empowering people to seek medical guidance earlier than they might have otherwise. Apple estimates this feature could identify over one million people with previously undiagnosed hypertension in its first year alone.
Scheduled to launch before the end of September in over 150 countries, the hypertension notification will be available on Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, Series 11, Ultra 2, and Ultra 3 models running watchOS 26. This move solidifies the Apple Watch’s position not just as a fitness device, but as an essential, clinically validated tool for long-term health management.
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