THE Apple Watch's blood pressure monitoring feature may provide people with a false sense of security, according to research published today in JAMA.
A team from the University of Pennsylvania tested the watch in nearly 4,000 people, and found it picked up undiagnosed hypertension in around 41% of those who had it - but missed it in 59%.
It also gave a false positive alert to 8% of people who did not have hypertension.
While the device is not intended to diagnose hypertension, the researchers had concerns about the implications of misclassification of risk.
"False reassurance may discourage some individuals with undiagnosed hypertension from obtaining appropriate screening or engaging with the health care system, resulting in missed opportunities for early detection and treatment," wrote the researchers.
"Rigorous validation, strategies to improve cuffless device accuracy, and thoughtful integration into population screening will be essential if cuffless technologies are to contribute meaningfully to hypertension detection," they concluded.
Read the paper HERE.
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