SAN FRANCISCO – The Apple Watch Series 11, launching this Friday, introduces a feature that notifies users if they might have high blood pressure, utilizing artificial intelligence instead of a traditional blood pressure monitor.
This notification capability, which is also compatible with the Series 9 and later models, stems from applying AI to the existing sensor data, according to Sumbul Ahmad Desai, Apple’s vice president of health.
Apple has been exploring the identification of high blood pressure for several years, Desai mentioned. It’s noteworthy that over a billion people globally are affected by this condition, yet about half of these individuals remain undiagnosed. This is largely because the typical method of blood pressure measurement—a cuff—is often only encountered at a doctor’s office.
To develop this feature, Apple analyzed data from 100,000 individuals who participated in a heart and movement study launched back in 2019. The goal was to identify patterns in the watch’s heart-related sensor data that could correlate with standard blood pressure readings, Desai shared.
Through extensive machine learning processes, Apple created an algorithm, which underwent validation in a specific study of around 2,000 participants.
Desai noted that, due to Apple’s strict privacy policies, they don’t acquire much data outside major studies. However, insights from these studies provide significant scientific understanding, allowing them to explore potential indicators in detail.
The newly approved feature from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not measure blood pressure directly. Instead, it alerts users about potential high blood pressure and advises them to use a cuff for an accurate measurement and consult a doctor.
Apple plans to make this feature available in over 150 countries. Ami Bhatt, chief innovation officer at the American College of Cardiology, highlighted that this could facilitate earlier detection of high blood pressure, potentially preventing serious health issues like heart attacks and strokes.
While Bhatt acknowledged Apple taking precautions against misleading alerts, she emphasized the importance of communicating that this feature shouldn’t replace traditional measurement and professional evaluations.
There’s also a concern about false reassurance; users who don’t receive an alert might wrongly believe they are not at risk of hypertension, Bhatt noted in an interview.
