Smartwatches May Detect Hidden High Blood Pressure, Study Finds

Apple Watch hypertension alerts could help identify undiagnosed cases, but shouldn't replace standard screening.

Published on Feb. 9, 2026

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A new study led by researchers from the University of Utah and University of Pennsylvania examined the potential real-world impact of the Apple Watch Hypertension Notifications Feature, a tool that uses the watch's optical sensors to detect blood flow patterns and alert users to possible hypertension. The analysis found the feature could be helpful in identifying undiagnosed high blood pressure, especially in higher-risk populations, but cautioned it should supplement rather than replace standard blood pressure screening with cuff-based devices.

Why it matters

High blood pressure is a leading cause of heart disease, but often goes undetected due to its asymptomatic nature. Wearable technology that can help identify undiagnosed hypertension cases could have significant public health benefits, but the study highlights the need to interpret these alerts cautiously and follow up with standard diagnostic methods.

The details

The study found that the Apple Watch hypertension alerts could be more accurate in identifying true hypertension cases in populations with higher baseline rates of the condition, such as older adults and non-Hispanic Black individuals. However, the absence of an alert becomes less reassuring as prevalence increases, and the researchers caution the feature could provide false reassurance and discourage some from obtaining appropriate cuff-based screening.

  • In September 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the Apple Watch Hypertension Notifications Feature.
  • The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2026.

The players

Adam Bress

Pharm.D., M.S., senior author and researcher at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah.

University of Utah

The institution where Bress is a researcher.

University of Pennsylvania

One of the institutions that led the research study.

Apple Watch

The smartwatch device that features the Hypertension Notifications Feature.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

The regulatory agency that cleared the Apple Watch Hypertension Notifications Feature in September 2025.

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What they’re saying

“High blood pressure is what we call a silent killer. You can't feel it for the most part. You don't know you have it. It's asymptomatic, and it's the leading modifiable cause of heart disease.”

— Adam Bress, Researcher (Journal of the American Medical Association)

“If it helps get people engaged with the health care system to diagnose and treat hypertension using cuff-based measurement methods, that's a good thing.”

— Adam Bress, Researcher (Journal of the American Medical Association)

What’s next

The research team plans follow-up studies to estimate the actual numbers of U.S. adults who would receive false negatives and false positives from the Apple Watch hypertension alerts, broken down by region, income, education, and other demographic factors.

The takeaway

While the Apple Watch hypertension alerts represent a promising public health tool, they should be used to supplement, not replace, standard blood pressure screening with validated cuff-based devices. Clinicians should perform high-quality cuff-based measurements and consider additional out-of-office monitoring to confirm any hypertension diagnosis prompted by the wearable device alerts.