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, went live locally from Wednesday, December 3 evening, giving eligible users in both markets access at the same time as other major regions.

The Cupertino-based tech giant estimates that in the first year of launch, more than one million users worldwide could discover they are at risk for hypertension through Apple Watch notifications.

Dr Rajiv Kumar, from Apple’s Medical Affairs and Research team, told Gulf News that the new tool is designed to identify subtle changes in vascular health that could indicate the early onset of hypertension — a condition often called the “silent killer”.

“These are people who otherwise may never have known they had high blood pressure,” Dr. Kumar said. “Hypertension is widespread globally, and any step toward earlier detection can have profound health impacts.”

“More than a billion people around the world are affected by hypertension, and about 40 to 50 per cent of them don’t even know it,” said Dr. Kumar. “It’s largely asymptomatic in its early stages, so many people live with elevated blood pressure for years without realising the damage it’s doing.”

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.

The feature, which will be available on the Apple Watch Series 9, Ultra 2, and later models, monitors how blood vessels respond to each heartbeat using the watch’s optical heart sensor. Over a 30‑day period, the algorithm analyses these readings to spot patterns suggestive of stage one or stage two hypertension.

“If a user wears the watch at least half the time during a 30‑day window, it looks back at the data to determine whether it crosses a certain threshold,” Dr. Kumar explained. “If it does, the watch surfaces a notification that says you may have early stages of hypertension.”

The device does not provide blood pressure readings or diagnose hypertension. Instead, a detection alert encourages users to check their blood pressure manually and follow up with their doctor.

“We don’t measure blood pressure directly or give numerical values,” Dr. Kumar said. “What we look for are vessel changes that develop over time due to sustained high blood pressure.”

To support users in taking the next step, Apple has introduced a “Blood Pressure Log” within its Health app — a feature that gives detailed guidance on proper measurement technique, sets reminders, and compiles data over seven days into a single, shareable report.

“That PDF summarises systolic and diastolic levels and classifies them based on regional standards,” Dr. Kumar said. “It’s designed so a user can hand it to their doctor, who will know exactly what to do next. Our goal is to make the hand‑off from detection to care as seamless as possible.”

Dr Kumar hopes the new feature will bridge that awareness gap.

“Our main focus is early awareness,” he said. “We want people in markets like the UAE to understand their health better so they can take control of it sooner. With timely lifestyle interventions, users can slow or even reverse the progression of the disease and prevent complications.”

While he did not elaborate on future developments, Dr. Kumar hinted that Apple’s work in personal health monitoring is far from over. “You can imagine the questions we’re asking — how to empower users even more with meaningful, personalised health data,” he said. “We’re very excited about what comes next.”

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.