Blood Pressure Monitor on Smartwatch: How it Works and Is it Reliable?

Watches have become smart and they can now measure everything from SpO2, heart rate, stress, and even sleep.

Now, we’re getting Blood Pressure Monitoring in premium smartwatches that will eventually be made available for the budget smartwatch but it will take some time as it’s a bit expensive sensor.

So if you’re curious like me and wanted to know how does Blood Pressure Monitoring works on smartwatches and whether is it reliable to use in real life or not? let’s find out…

How Blood Pressure Monitoring Works in Smartwatch

To put it simply, It measures the time it takes for a pulse to travel from the heart to the wrist. It’s also known as Pulse Transit Time (PTT), if the pulse transit time is faster then it’s an indication of high blood pressure whereas if the pulse transit time is slow then it’s an indication of low blood pressure.

To see all the data, most smartwatches provide an app where you will able to see your heart rate fluctuation data while if the ECG is present then the watch will have a dedicated ECG app.

Premium smartwatches use the ECG (Electrocardiogram) to provide accurate data whereas budget smartwatch relies on PPG (Photoplethysmography) because of its affordable sensor compared to ECG.

So if you ever see a smartwatch worth Rs 5000 (or $99) claiming that it has an ECG sensor then simply stay away from it because there is a chance that the watch won’t have a good ECG sensor or they’re just lying.

Most of the time, a smartwatch worth Rs 5000 will only have the PPG heart rate sensor whereas a smartwatch worth above Rs 15000 might have an ECG sensor.

Before buying a smartwatch, make sure to check out the full specs or read the review, so you don’t have to regret buying it.

NOTE: If the smartwatch has Blood Pressure Monitoring then it needs to have FDA and CE clearance, most of the premium brands like Samsung, Apple, Google, and even Fitbit do have FDA and CE approval.

How Reliable Blood Pressure Monitor on Smartwatch is?

The digital blood pressure monitor used by doctors is more accurate because it’s mainly made to measure blood pressure.

Whereas smartwatches also provide close accurate data but as of now, it doesn’t provide as accurate data as digital blood pressure monitor.

So if you have a serious heart problem or your blood pressure is not under control then it’s better to contact the doctor or your own digital blood pressure monitor by consulting with a doctor.

The smartwatches Blood Pressure Monitor sensor can provide an indication that sometimes is wrong with your body and that you should visit the doctor but it’s nowhere ready to replace the blood pressure monitoring machine, yet.

You may have heard that Apple Watch saved someone’s life and that’s another use case for an ECG sensor because the blood pressure monitoring machine can’t stay 24/7 on your wrist whereas smartwatches can.

What I’m saying is, don’t rely 100% on a smartwatch when it comes to your health, it’s a tool that can guide but it’s not 100% ready to give you proper health data.

What is Blood Pressure Monitoring

Its a bit complex explanation but I will try my best to explain it in a simple way,

The heart pumps blood into large blood vessels and when the blood moves throughout the human body, it puts pressure on the vessel walls, which is called the blood pressure level of a body.

I tried my best to simplify, What Blood Pressure Monitoring is, and now let’s go a bit deeper…

Blood pressure is measured using two numbers: systolic and diastolic.

Systolic blood pressure measures the pressure in your arteries (distribute oxygen-rich blood to your body) when your heart beats whereas diastolic blood pressure measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats.

If your body is healthy then systolic blood pressure will be higher than diastolic blood pressure.

Now, let me share with your the Normal Blood Pressure Range for Men, Women, Senior Citizens, and Children.

It may get a bit technical but it will be good if you have a blood pressure monitoring machine at home to understand, what is normal Normal Blood Pressure Range for yourself or for your family members.

The data added is from godigit…

Normal Blood Pressure Range for Men

Age Group	Systolic (mmHg)	Diastolic (mmHg)
20-25 years	120.5	78.5
26-30 years	119.5	76.5
31 to 35 years	114.5	75.5
36 to 40 years	120.5	75.5
41 to 45 years	115.5	78.5
46 to 50 years	119.5	80.5
51 to 55 years	125.5	80.5
55 to 60 years	129.5	79.5
61 to 65 years	143.5	76.5

Normal Blood Pressure Range for Women

Age Group	Systolic (mmHg)	Diastolic (mmHg)
20-25 years	115.5	70.5
26-30 years	113.5	71.5
31 to 35 years	110.5	72.5
36 to 40 years	112.5	74.5
41 to 45 years	116.5	73.5
46 to 50 years	124	78.5
51 to 55 years	122.5	74.5
55 to 60 years	132.5	78.5
61 to 65 years	130.5	77.5

Normal Blood Pressure Range for Senior Citizens

Low blood pressure or hypotension	90 or lower	60 or less
Normal blood pressure	Less than 120	Less than 80
Elevated blood pressure	120 to 129	Less than 80
High blood pressure (stage I)	130 to 139	80 to 89
High blood pressure (stage II)	140 or higher	90 or higher
Hypertension or high blood pressure crisis	180 or higher	120 or higher

Normal Blood Pressure Range for Senior Children

Age Group	Systolic (mmHg)	Diastolic (mmHg)
Less than 4 weeks	60-90	20-60
1 year	87-105	53-66
2 to 4 years	95-105	53-66
3 to 5 years	95-110	56-70
6 to 12 years	97-112	57-71
13 to 19 years	112-128	66-80

Best Smartwatches with Blood Pressure Monitor

Okay, now that you know how Blood Pressure Monitoring works on a smartwatch, so it makes more sense to see the best Smartwatches with Blood Pressure Monitors.

Do Note, these smartwatches will be expensive as a hall.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Series 5

Samsung has recently launched Galaxy Watch Series 5 (review) all over the world which also comes with Blood Pressure Monitoring.

It’s a premium smartwatch which means, you don’t have to worry about accuracy, it’s Samsung, so you can trust them.

By the way, Samsung smartwatches don’t work with iPhones, they will not work with Android smartphones.

Check out the Apple Watch Series 8

Apple Watch Series 8

Again, expensive watch that will only work with iPhones.

I don’t have to talk much about the Apple Watches, they’re great and provide accurate data, the only thing is the price tag other than that, it’s a solid watch if you want to keep track of your health 24/7.

Check out the Apple Watch Series 8

Conclusion

Smartwatches have become more than just watches, its great tool to keep track of your health, the more money you spend, the more feature you will get, that’s the story of every single product and the same applies to smartwatches too.

Still, if you have any kind of questions or doubts then feel free to drop a comment.