It’s taken a while, but Singapore is finally getting the Hypertension Notifications feature that Apple announced when it unveiled its new Apple Watches.
In a nutshell, the Hypertension Notifications feature aims to alert users to signs of hypertension or chronic high blood pressure. According to Apple, hypertension affects around 1.3 billion adults in the world. But the worrying thing is that around 40% of these adults are undiagnosed – meaning they are unaware that they have it. This feature aims to change that.
How does it work?
If you’ve read our coverage of the new Apple Watches, you’ll know that they can’t directly measure blood pressure. So how can this feature work? It works by using the optical heart sensor and a specially developed algorithm. The sensor analyses how a user’s blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, and the algorithm studies this data over a 30-day period to look for signs of consistent hypertension.
The feature uses the optical heart rate sensor and uses machine learning to look for signs of elevated blood pressure.
Photo: HWZ
The algorithm was developed using advanced machine learning and training data from multiple studies involving over 100,000 participants. Its performance was then validated in a clinical study of over 2,000 participants. Apple says it expects this feature to notify over a million people with undiagnosed hypertension in its first year.
To learn more about the studies and validation process, Apple has published a clinical validation paper, which you can read here.
Which watches support it?
Interestingly, this feature is not exclusive to this year’s Apple Watches. In fact, it’s supported by any watch that has the latest generation optical heart rate sensor. The watches that do are:
Here are some additional requirements for the feature to work correctly:
- Wrist detection must be turned on
- The feature is only intended for those 22 years or older
- You must not be pregnant or have been diagnosed with hypertension
How to set it up?
You’ll need to enable Hypertension Notifications for it to work. The steps are simple and should only take a few minutes.
- Open the Health app on your iPhone
- Tap on the profile icon in the top right corner
- Tap “Health Checklist” under Features
- Scroll and find Hypertension Notifications
- You’ll be asked to confirm your age and if you’ve ever been diagnosed with hypertension
- Tap “Next” and follow the onscreen instructions to learn how the notifications work
- Tap “Done” and wear your watch as often as possible
What if it tells me I have signs of hypertension?
If you happen to receive a notification that says you have signs of hypertension, you’ll be advised to keep a log of your blood pressure and to consult a doctor. To help you with the visit, you’ll also be prompted to set up a blood pressure log in the Health app. However, you’ll need a third-party blood pressure cuff monitor to take measurements.
Things to note
It’s important to know that this feature is not a diagnostic tool. Though the feature has been clinically validated, it’s not a substitute for a doctor’s diagnosis.
If you receive a notification indicating you have shown signs of high blood pressure, you should visit a doctor to discuss the results and find out what your next steps should be.
By the same token, just because you didn’t receive a notification doesn’t rule out the possibility that you might have hypertension. You should still visit a doctor if you feel that something is not right.
In other words, it’s best to think of the feature as an awareness tool that could serve as an important first step of discovery, since it’s estimated that millions of people have hypertension and yet are unaware of it.
