Apple continues to expand on It’s Apple Watch health monitoring features for many years, moving beyond health tracking into areas that can provide early insight into potential medical concerns. One of the latest additions is hypertension alertswhich is designed to notify users when their blood pressure trends increase over time. While Apple Watches cannot directly measure blood pressure, this feature can still play a useful role in highlighting patterns that may be appropriate to discuss with your doctor. Here, we’ll explain what hypertension alerts do, how they work and how to enable and manage them on the Apple Watch.

What hypertension alerts do

Hypertension alerts are designed to detect long-term trends that may indicate high blood pressure. Instead of relying on a traditional cuff measurement, the Apple Watch analyzes a combination of health data collected over a 30-day period, including heart rate, movement patterns and other contextual information stored in the Health app. Using this data, the system looks for chronic changes consistent with patterns commonly associated with hypertension.

If your Apple Watch detects a trend in blood pressure over a long period of time, it will send you a notification. These alerts are not intended to diagnose hypertension or replace medical testing. Rather, they serve as an early signal that something has changed and that you may want to seek further monitoring or professional advice.

Apple emphasizes that hypertension alerts are designed for users who have not yet been diagnosed with high blood pressure. However, they are meant to raise awareness rather than confirm a condition.

Who can use hypertension alerts

Hypertension alerts require a compatible Apple Watch model (Apple Watch Series 9 or later, or Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later) paired with a supported iPhone (iPhone 11 or later). The feature also depends on new versions of watchOS and iOS, as it relies on updated health algorithms and background data analysis. To use hypertension alerts you must be 22 years of age or older, not pregnant and not previously diagnosed with hypertension. You should also make sure that your Apple Watch’s Checking the pulse feature is turned on.

To receive meaningful alerts, your Apple Watch needs enough data. This means wearing the watch all the time, including during sleep if sleep tracking is enabled, and keeping health details such as age, sex, height and weight up-to-date in the Health app. The system uses long-term trends, so alerts will not appear immediately after enabling the feature.

How to turn on hypertension alerts

Hypertension alerts are managed by Health app on the paired iPhone. The feature can’t be made directly from the watch itself. During setup, the Health app will ask for confirmation that the user has not been diagnosed with hypertension. It can also prompt a review of health details such as date of birth and biological sex, as this information helps improve the accuracy of trend analysis.

To get started, open the Health app on the iPhone paired with the Apple Watch. From the main Health screen, tap your profile in the top corner. selection Health Checklist from available Parts. Next, you need to tap Hypertension Alertsconfirm your age and whether you have been diagnosed with hypertension or not. pat Keep and follow the on-screen prompts for information on how notifications work. Once you have done this, tap It’s over and everything will be ready.

Once enabled, the feature will automatically run in the background. No need to manually start monitoring or interact with the feature every day.

Manage notifications and alerts

When hypertension alerts are turned on, notifications appear on the Apple Watch and the paired iPhone. These alerts usually explain that a long-term trend suggesting high blood pressure has been detected, along with guidance on next steps.

Users can manage how and when these notifications appear by adjusting the notification settings for the Health app. This includes choosing whether alerts appear on the lock screen, in the Notification Center or as time-sensitive notifications on the Apple Watch.

Health data related to hypertension alerts can be checked anytime in the Health app. While the Apple Watch does not display a specific blood pressure number, users can view contextual information and educational material that explains what the alert means and what actions are appropriate.

How hypertension alerts can help

Hypertension usually develops gradually and may not cause noticeable symptoms in its early stages. Because of this, many people are unaware of high blood pressure until it is identified during a routine medical examination.

Hypertension alerts can alert you to subtle changes that may go unnoticed. For some users, an alert can prompt early conversations with a doctor, more blood pressure monitoring at home or lifestyle changes such as adjusting diet, activity or sleep habits.

It is important to treat these notifications as informational rather than diagnostic. The Apple Watch does not provide specific blood pressure readings and cannot self-confirm hypertension.

What to do if you receive an alert

Receiving a hypertension alert does not mean there is an immediate medical emergency. Apple recommends using the alert as a prompt to pay attention to your cardiovascular health.

Many users choose to follow up by measuring blood pressure with a traditional cuff at home or by scheduling a check with a healthcare professional. A doctor can provide accurate testing, diagnosis and guidance based on clinical measurements and individual risk factors.

It is also worth checking the lifestyle factors that influence blood pressure, such as the level of physical activity, quality of sleep, stress and diet. The Apple Watch can now help track many of these areas, which can provide useful context when discussing health problems with a professional.

Limitations to keep in mind

Hypertension alerts are not available in all regions and may be subject to regulatory approval. The feature also requires constant use of the Apple Watch over time to generate reliable trend data.

Most importantly, the Apple Watch does not directly measure blood pressure. Alerts are based on correlations and trends rather than direct readings, which means they should not be used as a substitute for medical equipment or professional care.