Hypertension alerts are now available on the Apple Watch and if you have a compatible model and update your device with watchOS 26 you can turn them on right now. Apple has also revealed more details about how hypertension tracking works, and what to do if you get an alert.
The alerts are the most innovative new health tracking feature announced at the launch of the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, but you don’t need the latest models to get them.
Hypertension alerts use the existing sensors on the Apple Watch so if you have an Apple Watch Series 9 or Series 10, or an Apple Watch Ultra 2, you can turn on the feature right now.
How to enable hypertension alerts
Along with needing a compatible watch, you need to be a compatible human to enable hypertension tracking. You need to be over 22-years-old, not pregnant, and not have been diagnosed with hypertension. You also need an iPhone 11 or later and have wrist detection turned on with your watch.
If you tick all the boxes you can set up hypertension tracking in the Health app, either by going to the heart section or clicking on your profile and finding the health checklist. Your watch will then start looking for signs of hypertension, and if it detects patterns related to hypertension over a 30-day period you’ll get an alert.
The Apple Watch is not a blood pressure monitor and isn’t providing a continuous reading, but instead uses the data from the optical heart sensor to sense how your blood vessels are responding to your heartbeats, and uses an algorithm to determine if there are signs of hypertension.
What to do if you get a hypertension alert
No alerts will be sent for the first 30 days while your watch gathers data, but if you do get a notification after that period Apple has suggested the steps you need to take.
You’ll be prompted by the watch to start a log of your blood pressure, which you’ll need to measure using a third-party blood pressure cuff. Apple recommends taking measurements for seven days and logging them in the Health app, then taking your readings to a health professional to discuss them.
Hypertension is often symptomless so the alerts could well come as a surprise to lots of people — Apple estimates it will send one million alerts to people with undiagnosed hypertension in the first year. It’s definitely worth investigating further if you do get a notification, but also note that the watch won’t detect every case of hypertension.
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