Apple Watch Series 11 is not a blood pressure monitor — here's how hypertension alerts work

(Image credit: Future)

All the rumors pointed to Apple adding a blood pressure monitor to the new Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 — instead, we got hypertension alerts, but these two things aren’t quite the same.

A blood pressure monitor works by using an inflatable arm cuff to temporarily stop blood flow in an artery, then slowly releasing the pressure, or by using an electronic cuff to detect vibrations or oscillations in the artery as blood flows.

Apple’s hypertension notifications use data from the heart sensor to analyze how a user’s blood vessels respond to the beats of the heart. The algorithm works in the background, reviewing data over 30-day periods, and will notify users if it detects consistent signs of hypertension.

In other words, you won’t be able to use your watch to take a blood pressure reading — you’ll still need to use a cuff for that. You will, however, get an alert if things don’t look right.

Apple Watch 11 hypertension availability — (Image credit: Apple)

Apple has made it clear that this isn’t a diagnosis, and the next steps after an alert would be to take blood pressure readings with an actual cuff. You can log the cuff readings in the health app, and create an exportable PDF to share with your doctor.

Apple estimates the feature will notify over 1 million people with undiagnosed hypertension within the first year. Hypertension is the leading modifiable risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease, impacting approximately 1.3 billion adults globally. It’s often overlooked, as, unless you see your doctor regularly, it can be challenging to detect from a single blood pressure reading.

This is the latest development in Apple’s advances in heart health monitoring — in 2018, Apple added ECG readings to the Apple Watch Series 4, allowing wearers to take a reading from their wrist. They’ve since added irregular rhythm notifications, which alert wearers if signs of atrial fibrillation are detected, as well as low and high heart rate alerts, and blood oxygen monitoring.

Apple Watch Series 11 close-up — (Image credit: Future)

Which watches will get the hypertension alerts?

Hypertension alerts will be available in more than 150 countries and regions, including the U.S. and EU, later this month. The notifications will be available on Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Ultra 2, as well as the new Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 with watchOS 26.

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Jane McGuire is Tom's Guide's Fitness editor, which means she looks after everything fitness related - from running gear to yoga mats. An avid runner, Jane has tested and reviewed fitness products for the past five years, so knows what to look for when finding a good running watch or a pair of shorts with pockets big enough for your smartphone. When she's not pounding the pavements, you'll find Jane striding round the Surrey Hills, taking far too many photos of her puppy.

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