How to Monitor Your Blood Pressure With the Apple Watch

If you have high blood pressure or hypertension, you know how important it is to monitor your blood pressure on a daily basis. The Apple Watch, now in its fifth iteration, has an incredible array of health-monitoring features, but it can't monitor your blood pressure by itself. With the help of third-party apps and medically validated devices, however, the Apple Watch is a great tool for measuring and tracking your blood pressure readings.

The only medically accurate way to get a blood pressure reading is to stop blood flow with an inflatable blood pressure cuff. Your Apple Watch can help measure and track your blood pressure only with the help of a medically validated, connected blood pressure monitor.

When looking for a reputable blood pressure device, make sure it's been certified by the FDA. A device checked out by the FDA is more likely to perform accurate health readings. Also, make sure the device is compatible with the Apple Watch and Apple's Health app so you can get the most out of the health data you collect.

While there are many blood-pressure devices on the market, there are some noted for working well with the Health app on iPhones and Apple Watches.

Omron has a variety of upper-arm blood pressure monitors, such as the Omron 10 Series, which connects to an iPhone via Bluetooth and can then be used on an Apple Watch through the Apple Health app. It runs about $100.

The QardioArm connects to the Qardio App, which can fully integrate with Apple Health. This monitor performs standard blood pressure readings, but also offers a few advanced features, such as triple measurement and geotracking, so you can see how your blood pressure changes at work, at home, or on vacation. It's also about $100.

This example uses a QardioArm wireless blood pressure device to demonstrate how you can take a reading directly from your Apple Watch.