Hypertension notifications are a prominent health feature Apple announced for the Apple Watch at its Awe Dropping event earlier this week. The feature is part of the upcoming watchOS 26 update; however, Apple said at the time of announcement that it"s waiting for clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The feature has got the green signal from the FDA and is all set for a launch next week, according to multiple media outlets, including The Verge. The publication cited an emailed statement from Apple spokesperson Zaina Khachadourian.
As the name suggests, hypertension notifications can alert you if any signs of high blood pressure or hypertension are detected. It uses data from the optical heart sensor on Apple Watch to analyze how your blood vessels respond to the beats of the heart.
Apple"s machine learning algorithm works passively in the background, reviewing data over 30-day periods, then alerts you if it detects consistent signs of hypertension. Apple said that it sourced "training data from multiple studies totaling over 100,000 participants. Its performance was then validated in a clinical study of over 2,000 participants."
The company notes that hypertension impacts over 1.3 billion adults globally. While an Apple Watch may not be able to detect all instances of hypertension, Apple expects the feature to "notify over 1 million people with undiagnosed hypertension within the first year."
Hypertension notifications are available on the recently launched Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch Series 11. It will also make its way to the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 (and later) as part of the watchOS 26 update coming next week.
The feature is supported in more than 150 countries and regions, including the US and the EU. Apple cautions that the feature is not intended for use by people aged below 22, those who have been previously diagnosed with hypertension, or during pregnancy.