APPLE has revealed a life-saving new health feature that’s expected to alert more than a million people in its first year.
High blood pressure – or hypertension – is known for being a “silent killer” because there’s often no noticeable symptoms.
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Some 1.3billion adults worldwide have hypertension.
The newest Apple Watches could help detect it thanks to intelligent sensors that analyse how a user’s blood vessels respond to the beats of the heart.
If a wearer receives a hypertension alert, it is recommended that they log their blood pressure for seven days using a third-party blood pressure cuff and share the results with their doctor.
The feature is expected to land on the new Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 “soon” pending regulatory approval.
It’ll be available as part of a free upgrade to previous models too, from Series 9 and later and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later.
But it’s not just hypertension Apple is hoping to address, the tech giant is going big on sleep too.
A new Sleep Score tool will launch immediately on the new devices, analysing activity such as sleep duration, how often you wake up and time spent in each sleep stage to create the score.
This will not only be available on the new Series 11 and Ultra 3, but also the cheaper new Apple Watch SE 3.
Apple has boosted battery on its Apple Watches this year too, with the Series 11 capable of lasting up to 24 hours, the Ultra 3 up to 42 hours and the SE 3 up to 18 hours.
“Apple Watch Ultra is our most advanced Apple Watch, designed to take users from sports and adventure to the rest of their life, and help them stay active, healthy, connected, and safe, wherever they are,” said Eugene Kim, Apple’s vice president of Apple Watch Hardware Engineering.
“Apple Watch Ultra 3 debuts innovative satellite communications that will offer users more safety and connectivity when they’re off the grid, plus longer battery life, 5G, powerful health insights, and all the advanced fitness features our users love.”
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How to lower blood pressure
Persistent high blood pressure (hypertension) puts extra strain on your blood vessels, heart and other organs and it can raise your risk of serious conditions like heart disease, heart attacks and stroke. Here’s how to reduce it.
Reduce salt
Adults are recommended to limit their salt to 6g per day (around one level teaspoon) to avoid health consequences including high blood pressure.
The top tip is to swap out table salt, according to the Salt Substitute and Stroke Study, replacing it with a reduced sodium and added potassium alternative.
Cut down on alcohol
Excessive boozing can narrow the blood vessels, which raises the risk of hypertension.
Official drinking guidelines advise that people should not regularly drink more than 14 units a week to keep health risks from alcohol low.
Get moving
Exercise is good for the heart and the blood vessels.
Although the guidelines recommend 150 minutes of activity per week, if you’re currently very inactive, just a walk to the shop every day is better than nothing, and you can work up from there.
Studies suggest that isometric exercises – when you hold the body in one position without moving, such as a wall squat or plank – are best for lowering blood pressure.
Stop smoking
Smoking cigarettes is a killer. It makes the arteries sticky and narrow, which can cause blockages.
While smoking is not a direct cause of high blood pressure, it can cause an instant rise to pressure, heart rate and reduce the amount of oxygen that gets to the body’s cells.
Skip coffee
Sadly, caffeine can cause a short, but dramatic increase in your blood pressure – even if you don’t have high blood pressure.
Therefore cutting back on coffee is recommended as a lifestyle tip for those with hypertension.
Lose weight
The above tips can help you to lose weight, which is beneficial because being overweight in itself is a risk factor for hypertension.
Being overweight forces your heart to work harder to pump blood around your body, which can raise your blood pressure.
The only way of knowing whether you have high blood pressure is to have a blood pressure test. All adults over 40 years old are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every five years.
