Over the past few years, Apple has continued to expand the health monitoring features of its smartwatch, moving beyond simple fitness tracking to offering proactive insights into potential medical concerns. One of the latest additions is the "High Blood Pressure Alerts" feature, designed to notify users when they develop signs of consistently high blood pressure over time. While Apple Watches don't directly measure blood pressure, this feature provides data and indicators that warrant immediate medical attention. In this article, we'll explain how these alerts work and how to activate and manage them.
What is the function of high blood pressure alerts?
High blood pressure alerts are designed to identify health changes over extended periods that may indicate a health problem. Instead of relying on traditional blood pressure monitoring with a dedicated blood pressure cuff, the Apple Watch analyzes a 30-day collection of health data, including heart rate, activity patterns, and other information stored in the Health app. Based on this data, the system looks for persistent changes that align with patterns typically associated with high blood pressure.
If your watch detects signs of a potential rise in blood pressure, it will send you an immediate notification. It's important to emphasize that these alerts are not a diagnostic tool or a substitute for medical tests; they are an early warning sign, and you should seek professional advice. Apple stresses that this feature is intended for users who have not yet been diagnosed with high blood pressure, aiming to raise awareness rather than confirm a medical condition.
Who can use these alerts?
This feature requires specific hardware and certain updates, which are as follows:
◉ Apple Watch Series 9 or later, or Apple Watch Series 2 Ultra or later. It's worth noting that the Apple Watch Series 11 supports this feature with high efficiency thanks to its updated sensors.
◉ The user needs an iPhone 11 or later.
The user must be 22 years of age or older, not pregnant, and must not have been previously diagnosed with high blood pressure. The "Wrist Monitoring" feature must also be enabled in the watch settings.
◉ To obtain accurate results, the watch needs a sufficient amount of data, which means it must be worn regularly, including during sleep, with personal data such as age, gender, height, and weight being updated in the “My Health” app.
How to activate high blood pressure alerts
These alerts are managed exclusively through the Health app on the iPhone paired with the watch, and cannot be activated directly from the watch. During setup, the app will ask you to confirm you have no prior diagnosis and review your health details to improve the accuracy of the analysis. The activation steps are as follows:
◉ Open the “My Health” app on your iPhone.
◉ Tap on your profile picture in the top corner.
◉ Select “Health Checklist”.
◉ Click on “Hypertension Notifications”.
◉ Confirm your age and health status data, then press “Continue”.
◉ Follow the on-screen instructions to learn how notifications work, then press “Done”.
◉ Once finished, the feature will automatically run in the background without needing to be manually turned on every day.
When the feature is enabled, alerts will appear on both the watch and iPhone. These alerts typically indicate that a persistent change indicative of high blood pressure has been detected, along with guidance on next steps. Users can control how these notifications appear on the lock screen or in the Notification Center through the Health app settings.
Although the watch does not display a specific blood pressure number, all data can be reviewed within the application to understand the meaning of the alert and the appropriate actions.
The importance of this feature in health prevention
High blood pressure often develops gradually without noticeable symptoms, so many people only discover it by chance. This is where Apple Watch alerts become crucial in drawing attention to subtle changes that might otherwise go unnoticed. For some, these alerts can be the catalyst for lifestyle changes, such as improving their diet, increasing their physical activity, or enhancing their sleep quality.
What do you do when you receive an alert?
Receiving the alert doesn't necessarily mean there's a medical emergency; it's simply a reminder to pay attention to your heart health. Apple recommends the following:
◉ Use a traditional blood pressure monitor that includes a cuff for home measurement.
◉ Schedule an appointment with a specialist doctor to obtain an accurate diagnosis based on clinical measurements.
◉ Review lifestyle factors such as physical and mental stress, sleep quality, and diet.
This feature isn't available everywhere and may take some time to reach your country. Always remember that it's a warning device only, not a medical measurement tool. It doesn't measure blood pressure directly but analyzes your lifestyle; therefore, it cannot be relied upon as a substitute for professional medical equipment.
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