Apple Watch Gains New feature to Detect High Blood Pressure,Targeting ‘Silent Killer‘
CUPERTINO,CA – Apple today announced a new feature for its Apple Watch designed to detect high blood pressure,a condition affecting millions worldwide and often going undiagnosed.The technology, utilizing the watch’s visual sensor and advanced algorithms, aims to proactively identify potential cases of hypertension, a leading cause of heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure.
approximately 5 million Britons and 1.3 billion people globally suffer from high blood pressure, often without knowing it.Dubbed a “silent killer” due to its lack of noticeable symptoms, the condition contributes to over 10 million deaths annually. Apple’s new feature seeks to address this critical public health issue by providing users with early alerts, potentially saving lives and reducing the burden on healthcare systems.
According to Apple Vice President of Health Affairs, Dr. Somul Desai, the feature analyzes data from the heart’s visual sensor over a 30-day period, looking for patterns in how blood vessels respond to heartbeats. “Using the visual sensor data for the heart, algorithms are looking for chronic high blood pressure by analyzing how the blood vessels respond to heartbeat,” Desai stated. The algorithms operate in the background, notifying users if a pattern indicative of hypertension is detected.
Developed using advanced automated machine learning models and studies involving over 100,000 participants, Apple anticipates the feature will reveal more than one million previously undetected cases of high blood pressure. The technology will initially launch in over 150 countries later this month.While available immediately on the Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, the high blood pressure alert functionality will also be extended to older models – including the Series 11 – through an operating system update. apple is the first company to offer this type of blood pressure monitoring on a wearable device, positioning it as a leader in preventative health technology, according to the Daily Mail. Research suggests high blood pressure is responsible for roughly half of all heart attacks and strokes worldwide.
