It’s easy to get wrapped up in the chaos of the year-end holidays. Travel and family activities can make it harder to prioritize tracking and monitoring important health metrics. Blood pressure is one of the most important health vitals, especially if you have hypertension, and it’s key to monitor your blood pressure consistently. With the help of an Apple Watch, you can easily monitor your blood pressure from anywhere.
Consistency with daily tracking helps establish a baseline for your “normal” blood pressure and helps you see any fluctuations over time. Lifestyle, like stress and not getting enough sleep, as well as medications or diet changes can trigger a spike in your blood pressure readings. Tracking regularly can also document any false readings or effects of any new blood pressure medication.
Using an Apple Watch to monitor blood pressure cannot replace visiting the doctor regularly, but it can provide important data for your visits and signal when it’s time to schedule an appointment.
Below, I breakdown how to monitor blood pressure using your Apple Watch and blood pressure devices that will work with your smartwatch. For more, find out if your COVID tests are expired and find out your blood type with these methods.
How to track blood pressure
The Health app on your Apple Watch provides a convenient method to consolidate your blood pressure information in one location on a device that remains on your wrist most hours of the day.
While the smartwatch itself cannot directly measure your blood pressure alone, there are compatible tools and devices available that can pair with it. These devices, typically wireless monitors that link to your iPhone or Apple Watch, come with an arm cuff and a dedicated app, enabling seamless synchronization of data to your Apple Watch’s Health app.
Discover the top devices that can sync with your Apple Watch below.
Blood pressure devices that connect with your Apple Watch
Here are three wireless blood pressure monitors that sync to your Apple Watch’s Health app.
- Omron Evolv Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor ($74): The portable monitor provides precise clinical readings and features a built-in display that conveniently shows your results. Through Bluetooth connectivity, the Omron BPM effortlessly syncs with your Apple Watch via the Omron Connect mobile app.
- Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor ($100): Offers immediate color-coded feedback and generates a comprehensive chart of your previous measurements for easy monitoring. You can seamlessly connect your Withings BPM to your Apple Watch using Bluetooth.
- iHealth Feel Wireless Arm Blood Pressure Monitor ($64): The device can save up to 200 readings, and you can view your systolic and diastolic blood pressure via the iHealth App and see if your reading is normal or above average. The iHealth blood pressure monitor syncs to your Apple Watch using Bluetooth.
Watch this: 4 Apple Watch Fitness Features You May Not Know Exist
How to control your blood pressure through exercise
Regular physical activity is widely recognized for promoting a strong and healthy heart, which can regulate blood pressure.
- Utilize your Apple Watch to monitor your daily step count and ensure you’re meeting your targets.
- The smartwatch’s sensor on the back can track your heart rate. A decrease in your resting heart rate indicates progress towards your fitness objectives.
- You can log your exercise with the watch, which offers a selection of 12 different workouts or can automatically recognize your activity.
- During workouts, you can conveniently keep an eye on your heart rate and establish thresholds to alert you if it gets too high or low.
For more, here’s how you can set up Vitals to monitor sleep, heart rate and more using your Apple Watch. The Apple Watch can also help integrate exercise and mindfulness into your daily routine.
