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I have a bluetooth cuff meter and do use it on a regular basis. This warning - for people who don't know - is a good thing and kudos to Apple for being able to backport to last generations devices. (Suggesting they added the sensor capabilities back then with a long term plan to gather and correlate the training data from cuff + watch users)

The damage on our organs (like kidneys) from hypertension can be significant.

If people are not going to a doctor for years, this becomes a "We notice your blood pressure seems a little high, would you like to ask your doctor" thing.
 
do anybody knows if this is already available in the RC? I don't see how to activate it or check if it is active. Sleep score is there also for past months that's great but not hypertension measurement or alerts.
I don't know if sleep score was there before. I updated today having been on the dev beta for weeks, and it definitely looks different. You now have rings and a "sleep score" not just sleep tracking.
 
Just like the sleep apnea feature from last year, wear it constantly for 30 days and it tells you that you *might* have and issue. Pretty much useless compared to proper equipment. And they are getting away with it as most people believe it is wow features.
 
So, Apple is boldly promoting hypertension alerts on the Watch with a ‘coming this month’ rollout before they have FDA clearance. Is Apple getting preferential treatment from the FDA again, or are they just playing by their own rulebook as usual. FDA guidance is clear: you cannot advertise or promote a medical feature until the FDA has cleared or approved it for that intended use. Marketing an uncleared medical feature, even if labeled “pending clearance” and kept disabled, is still considered pre-approval promotion, which is by law prohibited and constitutes misbranding under the FD&C Act.

But different rules apply to Apple. When it added ECG capability, it had to b̶r̶i̶b̶e̶ convince the FDA that the Watch itself wasn’t really a medical device, that an electrocardiograph could simply be an “app”, exempting the watch itself from stricter medical device regulation and oversight.

I guess that’s one way to drive innovation - ignore or bend the rules, something only Apple could get away with.
 
What a nice surprise. I cancelled my 11 preorder after finding out my 9 will get this too.
What is the point of this function? You don’t need to buy a new watch for it - either you have hypertension or you don’t. If you want to find out, measure the blood pressure regularly.
This is only good for people who are young people who suddenly have hyper tension developed.
 
What is the point of this function? You don’t need to buy a new watch for it - either you have hypertension or you don’t. If you want to find out, measure the blood pressure regularly.
This is only good for people who are young people who suddenly have hyper tension developed.
Blood pressure monitors only tell you what your BP is at that given moment. The watch will give you an alert at the exact moment your BP is unusually high. I think the combo is perfect for my situation and certainly not a negative.
 
Blood pressure monitors only tell you what your BP is at that given moment. The watch will give you an alert at the exact moment your BP is unusually high. I think the combo is perfect for my situation and certainly not a negative.
That’s not how it works. The Apple implementation only lets you know you seem to have high blood pressure in general. They only estimate to identify about 1 million cases with this technology (watch the Keynote).

So it’s more like a wake up call kinda thing, but if you already know you have high BP the it’s useless.

I was excited for this, but not at the implementation level we are now at.
 
That’s not how it works. The Apple implementation only lets you know you seem to have high blood pressure in general. They only estimate to identify about 1 million cases with this technology (watch the Keynote).

So it’s more like a wake up call kinda thing, but if you already know you have high BP the it’s useless.

I was excited for this, but not at the implementation level we are now at.
I stand corrected. Thank you.
 
Just like the sleep apnea feature from last year, wear it constantly for 30 days and it tells you that you *might* have and issue. Pretty much useless compared to proper equipment. And they are getting away with it as most people believe it is wow features.
I don't think the implementation is useless. The tech isn't there to provide as accurate a reading as the cuff. If someone is unaware of any potential problem(s) and starts using an Apple Watch with the latest update, an alert could cause someone to seek the guidance of a physician, which could ultimately extend the life of the user.
 
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I have an iPhone 13 Pro and the original Ultra Watch. Here's what I found online when I searched why my iPhone Health.app said 'AFib History unavailable'.
The reason the Health app on the iPhone 13 Pro says “AFib History unavailable” while Irregular Rhythm Notifications are enabled is because these two features are mutually exclusive.
• Irregular Rhythm Notifications are designed for people without a diagnosed AFib condition and provide occasional alerts when an irregular rhythm is detected.
• AFib History, on the other hand, is for people who have been diagnosed with AFib by a physician and tracks the percentage of time the heart shows signs of AFib over a period of time. It provides more detailed history and lifestyle factor insights.
• To enable AFib History, you must set it up explicitly in the Health app, and when AFib History is enabled, Irregular Rhythm Notifications are automatically disabled.
• AFib History setup requires entering your date of birth and confirming a doctor’s diagnosis of AFib. It also requires wearing the Apple Watch consistently for heart rhythm monitoring.
• This design avoids conflicting alerts since AFib History provides ongoing tracking, while Irregular Rhythm Notifications are more intermittent.

SO...I did not know you should not have this turned on unless you were diagnosed with an AFib condition!!
 
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