For years, smartwatches have improved their ability to monitor numerous elements of our health, including blood pressure. When it comes to our hearts, the technology contained in the gadgets we wear on our wrists is capable of recording and assessing our health.
For quite some time, several of the major smartwatch models have included heart monitoring as a basic feature. At first, there was some skepticism about the monitoring’s accuracy. Apple, Garmin, and Fitbit, on the other hand, have demonstrated that their watches can accurately detect heart rates, blood oxygen levels, and ECGs.
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What Is a Heart Monitor Sensor?
Many smartwatches come equipped with the necessary sensors for health monitoring out of the box. The sensors are located on the watch face’s underside. They always rest against your wrist’s skin. The majority of watches will come with instructions on how to set the watch on your wrist to get the most accurate data. The sensors produce light that passes through the skin, allowing your watch to monitor blood flow. This can then be used to determine the rate at which your heart beats. Advanced features, like ECG capabilities, are available on some smartwatches.
Instead, they are reachable and can be touched with a finger. The gadget monitors electrical signals when a finger is placed on the sensor. This determines whether your heart’s heart rate rhythms are irregular or regular.
How Do Blood Pressure Monitors Work?
Blood pressure sensors are not the same as heart rate monitors. It is important to temporarily stop the circulation of blood in order to precisely measure blood pressure. This enables the force required by the heart to circulate blood around the body to be measured both during pumping (systolic pressure) and between pumps (diastolic pressure) (the diastolic pressure). A wrist strap that can inflate, similar to the cuff of an automated blood pressure monitor, is necessary to do this.
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Which Devices Utilize Blood Pressure and Heart Monitor Sensors?
Heart rate monitoring sensors are included in many well-known smartwatch brands. Any Apple Watch can assess your heart rate when it comes to Apple. If you want ECG capabilities, however, you’ll have to have an Apple Watch Series 4 or later. A new generation of smartwatches on the market now has the capacity to monitor and estimate blood pressure with some accuracy utilizing optical sensors. They are not intended to be used as or to replace a medical device.
Garmin
Garmin has a long history of incorporating heart rate monitoring into their products. Heart rate tracking has become common in various versions with the debut of the Forerunner 225. In addition, the technology used to analyze the results has improved. Garmin has yet to add ECG technology to any of its watches, so double-check the model to make sure it can track your heart rate. Garmin does not currently track or measure blood pressure.
Fitbit
On the other hand, I chose a slightly different path. Heart rate tracking was not made standard in their watches, although they did issue updated or enhanced models with HR in the title to signify that it could read your heart rate. It’s always a good idea to double-check the model to see if heart rate monitoring is included. Fitbit does not currently track or measure blood pressure; however, Fitbit has announced that it is conducting blood pressure research for its Fitbit Sense device.
When it comes to blood pressure, be wary of watches that make claims that aren’t accurate. To get it properly, the quality of sensors and accompanying technology is critical.
Smartwatches have been able to reliably record blood pressure readings in the past and continue to do so now. The majority of them necessitate the use of third-party programmes. These enable you to manually enter blood pressure readings from a blood pressure monitor. Others will let you download an app that connects to a smart blood pressure monitor and sends you the results over Bluetooth.
This year, a new generation of smartwatches has emerged. Pulse oximetry, a light sensor that can assess your blood pressure, is used in these innovative devices. The accuracy of these devices has yet to be established, and it varies greatly between watch models and sensor quality. However, as this technology evolves and matures, additional applications will emerge, and accuracy will improve.
Omron’s HeartGuide
is a device that displays information about the heart.
There is now only one watch on the market that can read your blood pressure and has been approved to provide accurate readings. Omron’s HeartGuide This smartwatch was created for folks who need to take their blood pressure frequently during the day but don’t want to carry around a blood pressure monitor. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 could be the next smartwatch to be certified by the FCA, and additional smartwatches in this category have yet to be seen.
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What Kind of Smartwatch Should I Get?
When it comes to taking your blood pressure, you don’t have a choice. The Omron HeartGuide is the only watch on the market that can measure blood pressure and has been approved by the FDA.
When it comes to heart rate monitors, though, there are a variety of solutions to choose. The obvious choice is Apple. Their watches have a variety of heart-monitoring features, such as heart rate and ECGs. However, except for changing watch straps, there isn’t much variety.
Garmin and Fitbit both provide a variety of Smartwatches to suit different tastes. Many of these watches include a heart rate sensor built in. There’s no need to look at the Garmin watches if you want to perform an ECG, and Fitbit won’t provide you with the watch you want if you want the flexibility to download a wide selection of apps. It’s helpful to know what type of analysis you want when looking for a smartwatch with your heart in mind.
Should I Invest in a Smartwatch with a Blood Pressure Monitor?
The Omron HeartGuide is currently exclusively intended for users who place a high value on blood pressure readings over other smartwatch features. The watch is bulky in order to accommodate the inflatable band, and it doesn’t do much else but track activity and sleep.
