JAMA
Smartwatch hypertension alerts show promise but miss many cases
In a 30‑day validation study of the Apple Watch hypertension notification feature, researchers compared smartwatch alerts with home blood pressure monitoring among adults without diagnosed hypertension. Among individuals with undiagnosed hypertension, 41.2% received an alert suggesting possible hypertension, while 58.8% did not. Among those without hypertension, 92.3% didn't receive an alert and 7.7% received an inappropriate alert. These performance metrics corresponded to a positive likelihood ratio of 5.35 and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.64, indicating moderate evidence to rule in hypertension and weak evidence to rule it out. The investigators aimed to characterize the potential impact of this notification feature on population‑level hypertension screening.
Clinical takeaway: When patients present with smartwatch alerts, confirm blood pressure using high‑quality cuff‑based office and out‑of‑office measurements. Wearable notifications should supplement, not replace, standard screening.
Source:
Cohen JB, et al. (2026, February 9). JAMA. Impact of a Smartwatch Hypertension Notification Feature for Population Screening. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41661624/