I am looking forward to this feature, but worry about it's accuracy.
Every time I go to the doctor and they hook me up to a blood pressure monitor, it comes back way high (like 160/90). I then request a manual check and it always comes back normal. I didn't figure this out until after they prescribed me calcium channel blockers (and they didn't do anything). Something about the shape of my arm or something.
Anyway point being that a faulty reading led to me being prescribed meds I did not need. Hoping this doesn't lead to more of the same.
m463 · 2h ago
I've heard inaccuracy could be dependent on how your arm is held/supported/relaxed when you are attached to the automatic cuff.
I always end up with my arm almost shoulder height resting on some bin on the side of the blood pressure device cart thing.
I wonder why they can't use an ergonomic chair with two appropriate-height support arms.
brandonb · 5h ago
Every 20 mmHg increase in your systolic blood pressure, or 10 mmHg increase in diastolic blood pressure, doubles your mortality. And only 23% of people with high blood pressure have it under control.
Pretty massive implications for public health.
I wrote about some of the science behind on-the-wrist blood pressure monitoring and public health implications here:
I think the headline is wrong: at 20:18 in Apple's presentation, the presenter said they expect to notify one million people during the year, not 100 million.
m463 · 2h ago
It's because the notification dark pattern that always says "remind me later" instead of "never remind me again"... :)
SilverElfin · 5h ago
It’s incredible how many health issues people have but aren’t aware of. I advise people find doctors and facilities that are friendly towards getting more diagnostics not less. Blood work and other types of tests can help you fix things early.
That’s great. I assume they make it easier to get the work done? I feel like it’s always an uphill battle to convince physicians to do some diagnostic test that has no downside.
jerlam · 3h ago
Quest and Labcorp have made it fairly easy to get diagnostic bloodwork yourself, without involving a doctor. It's a lot more than $200 though.
It's actually cheaper for me to go to one of these labs than to talk to a doctor and deal with insurance.
brnaftr361 · 4h ago
That privacy policy is hilarious.
Is that how we sibsidize the advertized cost of $1500 down to $200
jerlam · 5h ago
Assuming you can afford it, or have the will to address the problems.
code_biologist · 4h ago
100%. Not eating spoonfuls of Crisco/shortening like peanut butter is an easy life change. "Reduce chronic stress" is non-trivial.
al_borland · 2h ago
A lot of people don’t want to know.
vjvjvjvjghv · 4h ago
Time to buy stock in companies that produce blood pressure medication?
leonewton253 · 2h ago
About as useful as the annoying high volume notifications. No substitute to professional equipment and a doctors visit.
kotaKat · 5h ago
Cue another 10 minute “Apple Watch Saved My Life!” segment in next year’s Keynote, as is tradition at this point.
lp0_on_fire · 5h ago
From the article: "it will warn of a potential issue rather than diagnose it"
Seems like lawyer speak for "please don't sue us if we get this wrong" but I suspect the ad campaign for this feature will suggest otherwise.
brandonb · 5h ago
The reason they do this is that their algorithm makes errors, and setting it this way means they can tune for a high specificity (giving up some sensitivity).
The breathing disturbances notifications work in a similar way. They alert you to potential sleep apnea, but then you need to do an at-home or in-lab sleep study in order to get a diagnosis.
Every time I go to the doctor and they hook me up to a blood pressure monitor, it comes back way high (like 160/90). I then request a manual check and it always comes back normal. I didn't figure this out until after they prescribed me calcium channel blockers (and they didn't do anything). Something about the shape of my arm or something.
Anyway point being that a faulty reading led to me being prescribed meds I did not need. Hoping this doesn't lead to more of the same.
I always end up with my arm almost shoulder height resting on some bin on the side of the blood pressure device cart thing.
I wonder why they can't use an ergonomic chair with two appropriate-height support arms.
Pretty massive implications for public health.
I wrote about some of the science behind on-the-wrist blood pressure monitoring and public health implications here:
https://www.empirical.health/blog/apple-watch-blood-pressure...
It's actually cheaper for me to go to one of these labs than to talk to a doctor and deal with insurance.
Is that how we sibsidize the advertized cost of $1500 down to $200
Seems like lawyer speak for "please don't sue us if we get this wrong" but I suspect the ad campaign for this feature will suggest otherwise.
The breathing disturbances notifications work in a similar way. They alert you to potential sleep apnea, but then you need to do an at-home or in-lab sleep study in order to get a diagnosis.