Wireless Wednesday: How the Apple Watch can help diagnose high blood pressure

Millions of people check their Apple Watch each day for activity or sleep, but a new health metric could point to something far more impactful. Using data collected over time, the device can now help identify patterns that may detect signs of chronic high blood pressure, one of the most common yet silent health risks.

The latest update introduces a feature that analyzes heart-rate data to detect signs of hypertension, a leading risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease. The feature is expected to notify over 1 million people with undiagnosed hypertension within the first year.

Dr. Rajiv Kumar, a physician researcher at Apple, will be available to discuss the new technology and how these new insights can help users understand their health and speak with their doctors sooner.

Joined by: Rajiv B. Kumar, MD, Physician-Researcher, Apple

Have a listen:

Topics:

What is hypertension?

How can Apple Watch data help detect possible signs of hypertension?

What should someone do after receiving a hypertension notification?

How is the feature validated?

What steps should users take to share results with their doctor?

Where can we go to learn more?