Apple Watch’s new hypertension notification feature expands to Canada. It will alert users when it detects signs of high blood pressure.
Apple announced hypertension detection at its “Awe Dropping” September event.
Apple secured FDA clearance for hypertension notifications ahead of the Apple Watch Series 11 launch in September. This paved the way for the company to make the feature available in over 150 countries, including the US, the UK, Europe and others.
Canada now joins the growing list of countries where Apple Watch supports hypertension notifications.
When Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, it hyped up the new hypertension detection feature. It does not use any new sensor to achieve this. And due to this, the feature also made its way to the Apple Watch Series 9-11 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 with watchOS 26.
Instead, as Apple explained, it uses a combination of the Apple Watch’s existing sensors and a new algorithm. The latter analyzes the collected heart rate data to identify patterns related to chronic high blood pressure.
Your Apple Watch won’t replace a dedicated blood pressure monitor just yet
Hypertension detection requires 30 days of heart rate data before it can provide notifications. If the algorithm identifies patterns related to hypertension within the last 30 days of collected heart data, users will receive a notification on their watch.
The feature will only be available for users 22 years or older and not pregnant women. It will also not work for users who have previously been diagnosed with hypertension.
Despite everything, your Apple Watch won’t provide real-time blood pressure monitoring. It will also not help with other conditions related to hypertension, such as blood clots, stroke and atrial fibrillation.
Apple expects to warn at least one million people with undiagnosed hypertension in the first year of the feature’s debut.
