{"id":442077,"date":"2026-01-28T03:46:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T03:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/442077\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T03:46:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T03:46:10","slug":"tga-approves-apple-watchs-hypertension-detecting-feature-for-australians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/442077\/","title":{"rendered":"TGA approves Apple Watch’s hypertension-detecting feature for Australians"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apple<\/a> has received Australian regulatory approval for yet another important health feature of its popular Apple Watch \u2013 hypertension detection.<\/p>\n

Detecting high blood pressure as a feature of the most recent Apple Watch models was announced late last year, but for Australian users it required additional approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration.<\/p>\n

With that approval now in place, a software update will now enable hypertension detection for Apple Watches including the Apple Watch Series 9 and later, as well as Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/The Apple Watch will now allow Australians to be alerted to possible hypertension. (Trevor Long)<\/p>\n

It’s believed over 1.4 billion people worldwide suffer from hypertension, with 40 per cent not knowing it, mainly because it often presents without any symptoms.<\/p>\n

And for people who have had high blood pressure readings at the doctor – that’s often put down to an elevated rate because you’re at the doctor.<\/p>\n

Now with the Apple Watch, users can get a notification that they may have hypertension after the watch monitors their heart over a 30-day window.<\/p>\n

\"highPeople’s high readings are often attributed to being nervous at the doctor’s office. (iStock)<\/p>\n

Using a detailed optical sensor, the Watch is able to see how blood vessels respond to each beat of the heart.<\/p>\n

While this is not a blood pressure measurement, Apple’s own trials, with over 100,000 participants, were able to set a benchmark for the detection of hypertension and then, through a smaller clinical trial, gain regulatory approval.<\/p>\n

Apple’s smartwatch cannot perform a blood pressure reading. If hypertension is detected, the watch and phone will prompt the user to seek medical advice, and also begin logging blood pressure readings.<\/p>\n

\"BloodAfter detection, people will be able to record self-tested blood pressure results in their Apple Health app. (iStock)<\/p>\n

These readings are done manually using a blood pressure cuff and then logged into your Apple Health app, allowing users to have data for a medical professional to analyse.<\/p>\n

Other devices do claim to take blood pressure measurements, though very few have TGA approval in Australia.<\/p>\n

Some models of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch are able to take blood pressure measurements, but only after they are calibrated with a manual blood pressure cuff – great for ongoing monitoring of blood pressure.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Apple’s approach seems targeted as bringing awareness to the many who suffer without any knowledge of the issue.<\/p>\n

This is a big step forward in health, as hypertension is the leading modifiable risk factor for heart attack, stroke and kidney disease.<\/p>\n

“Hypertension awareness in Australia is far too low, so we welcome new technologies that advise people that they might have hypertension and should seek confirmation from their doctor,” Professor Garry Jennings, chief medical advisor at the Australian Heart Foundation, said.<\/p>\n

“Despite high blood pressure causing a greater risk of heart attack and stroke, only about a third of adults with hypertension are aware of it and have their blood pressure lowered to satisfactory levels.”<\/p>\n

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple has received Australian regulatory approval for yet another important health feature of its popular Apple Watch \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[64,63,213,105],"class_list":["post-442077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-gadgets","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}