New Apple feature hopes to tackle UAE's silent health crisis affecting 1 in 5 residents

Dubai: US tech juggernaut Apple has rolled out hypertension notifications on Apple Watch in over 150 countries and regions, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The feature, which can alert users if signs of chronic high blood pressure — or hypertension, goes live locally from Wednesday, December 3 evening, giving eligible users in both markets access at the same time as other major regions.

Hypertension is a leading modifiable risk factor for heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease, and affects around 1.3 billion adults worldwide. Globally, and in the UAE in particular, many cases go undiagnosed because high blood pressure often has no symptoms and people may not get regular checks.

One in five UAE residents screened during a nationwide hypertension detection campaign had high blood pressure, with more than 40 per cent of those affected completely unaware of their condition, a Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) report revealed in October.

Meanwhile, Apple's wearables, home and accessories segment reported revenue of $7.4 billion for Q3 2025.

The segment's revenue has seen recent declines, with a year-over-year decrease to $37.00 billion in the most recent fiscal year, compared to $41.24 billion a year ago. In 2024, this segment's revenue was about $39.8 billion. 

Instead of taking a blood pressure reading, Apple Watch uses its optical heart sensor to see how blood vessels respond to each heartbeat over time.

A machine learning algorithm analyses this pulse waveform data over a 30-day window to identify patterns that resemble those seen in people with hypertension.​

For hypertension notifications, the watch generally needs at least 14 days of wear during waking hours within that 30-day period to have enough data. If the pattern looks similar to those found in clinical studies of people with hypertension, the user receives a “possible hypertension” notification on their iPhone and Apple Watch, Apple explained.

“These notifications provide users with valuable insights into their health as it relates to this widespread condition simply by wearing their Apple Watch, so they can begin making potentially lifesaving behavioral changes, or start treatment to reduce their risk of serious, long-term health events," it explained.

The feature was developed with advanced machine learning and training data from multiple studies totaling over 100,000 participants. Its performance was then validated in a clinical study of over 2,000 participants.

While hypertension notifications will not detect all instances of hypertension, with the reach of Apple Watch, the feature has ambitious aims to notify over 1 million people with undiagnosed hypertension within the first year.

If users receive a hypertension notification, 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 provider at their next visit, which is consistent with the latest American Heart Association guidelines for the diagnosis and management of hypertension.

If the watch detects possible hypertension, it does not tell you your blood pressure numbers but prompts you to take the next medical steps. Users are guided to log their blood pressure twice a day for seven days using a third-party cuff, following American Heart Association-style home monitoring guidance.​

The Health app then compiles these readings into a clear summary and a detailed PDF that can be shared with a doctor during the next appointment.

Apple explained it is positioning the feature as a way to uncover a chronic risk, not as an emergency alarm for heart attacks or acute events.

Hypertension typically builds up silently over time, so the goal is to nudge people to seek care early rather than trigger an instant SOS.​

Once someone has been formally diagnosed with hypertension and that status is recorded in the health app, the watch no longer sends hypertension notifications.

At that point, ongoing management moves to doctor-led treatment and lifestyle changes rather than early detection.​

Hypertension notifications sit alongside Apple Watch sleep apnea detection, which looks for breathing disturbances over at least 10 nights in a 30-day period.

Users can already see nightly breathing disturbance values and receive possible sleep apnea notifications when the data shows consistent signs of moderate to severe cases.​

Apple is also expanding into hearing health with AirPods Pro, offering a five-minute hearing test, personalised hearing aid features for mild to moderate hearing loss, and loud sound reduction to cut exposure to harmful noise.