Whether or not you’ve had issues with your blood pressure in the past, it’s important to regularly keep an eye on it — especially if you’re extra stressed due to the holidays. Fortunately, if you already have an Apple Watch, tracking your blood pressure at home will be much easier.
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The smartwatch isn’t equipped to measure your blood pressure alone, but there are tools and devices you can pair it with it that can — usually wireless monitors that connect to your iPhone
or Apple Watch and come with an arm cuff and their own app. These devices will automatically sync the data with your Apple Watch’s health app
.
Here are some ways your Apple Watch can help keep your blood pressure and health in check.
These five wireless blood pressure monitors sync to your Apple Watch’s Health app.
Omron Evolv Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor ($64): This portable monitor takes clinically accurate readings, and has a built-in screen that shows your readings so you don’t have to consult your phone screen each time. The Omron BPM syncs to your Apple watch via the Omron Connect mobile app using Bluetooth
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Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor ($130): Provides instant color-coded feedback and creates a chart of all your past measurements for easy tracking in its Health Mate app. You can sync your Withings BPM to your Apple Watch via Bluetooth.
QardioArm Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor ($89): Geotracks your readings across locations. Measures your systolic and diastolic blood pressure and can detect an irregular heartbeat. You can set up reminders to notify you when it’s time to check your blood pressure. Connect your QardioArm BPM to your Apple Watch via Bluetooth.
iHealth Feel Wireless Arm Blood Pressure Monitor ($80): Offers up to 200 offline readings. Shows your systolic and diastolic blood pressure on the iHealth App and lets you know if your reading is normal or above average. The iHealth blood pressure monitor syncs to your Apple Watch using Bluetooth.
It’s well known that regular exercise can help your heart stay strong and healthy.
While working out, you can easily monitor your heart rate and set up heart-rate thresholds that notify you in case your heart rate is too high or low.
If you monitor your blood pressure regularly, you’ll likely also want to keep tabs on your heart’s health. The Apple Watch has FDA clearance for its an ECG feature that records your heart rate rhythm to detect if you have atrial fibrillation (AFib) or another abnormal heart rhythm.
You can use the new ECG app (this is the same as EKG, an electrocardiogram) on your watch after setting up the ECG feature in the Health app. We also recommend importing your health records so you can stay on top of any changes.
