I wore 3 blood pressure watches for a month to find the most accurate - and this one wins

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I measured my blood pressure for a month with three smartwatches.

I wore Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra, and BP Doctor Fit

Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra most closely matches the Garmin Index BP Monitor.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects an estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide, according to the World Heart Federation, and it's the number one risk factor for death on a global scale. The American Heart Association estimates that half of adults in the US have high blood pressure, with a large proportion not even knowing they have the condition. There are effective means to treat high blood pressure, but it's not always easy to detect and monitor.

I exhibit symptoms of white coat syndrome, where my blood pressure spikes at the doctor's office, so it is important for me to track my blood pressure at home and throughout the day. It isn't convenient to regularly check blood pressure with an arm cuff, so I'm thankful that wearable technology companies are finding ways to help monitor blood pressure trends throughout the day.

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It was great to see Apple release its hypertension notifications function, but I have yet to see any notifications from this feature, and it is not set up to monitor real-time blood pressure. However, there are a few options available that use either a calibrated blood pressure cuff or inflatable wristbands to measure your blood pressure, so I tested three popular options over the past month.

YHE has smartwatches with integrated inflatable airbags that mimic blood pressure cuffs but inflate on your wrist to provide stand-alone blood pressure measurements. Samsung and Amazfit use proprietary algorithms, in combination with a blood pressure cuff for calibration, to provide real-time measurements of your blood pressure.

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There are rumors that Apple will eventually provide real-time blood pressure support for the Apple Watch, and I am hopeful that will happen after further testing and data collection from the hypertension notification functionality. It would also be great to see some sports watchmakers provide this capability since Garmin, Suunto, Coros, and Polar offer an extensive amount of health and wellness tracking.

Blood pressure monitoring process

To get the most accurate results for comparing the watches, I sat comfortably in my office chair after spending several minutes clearing my mind and relaxing. I measured my blood pressure with the Garmin Index BP Monitor as the standard, followed closely by measurements from the three candidate watches, all mounted on the same wrist in the same position.

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Since blood pressure varies throughout the day, I measured my blood pressure in the morning before I started work and took any vitamins or medications. I then captured readings in the middle of the day and at the end of the workday to capture a range of data to compare.

While Samsung finally received FDA clearance to use a Galaxy Watch to help track your blood pressure, select Amazfit watches are only cleared for this functionality outside of the US. Simply set your Amazfit account location to Brazil, and the blood pressure utility will be available on your compatible Amazfit smartwatch. I used this functionality on an Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra and Balance 3.

Measurement processes

After placing the YHE BP Doctor Fit on your wrist, simply press the bottom-right button and then tap on the blood pressure app shortcut. Tap on the start button, and you will feel the airbag mounted under one side of the watch strap inflate around your wrist. Several seconds pass as the airbag fully inflates and begins to deflate. The watch then shows your measurement on the display after capturing your blood pressure reading.

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On the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, or another compatible Galaxy Watch, launch the Samsung Health Monitor application and tap on the blood pressure option. Tap on the measure button to initiate the measurement. The process is even easier on the Amazfit watch, where you tap the blood pressure utility shortcut and then tap to measure it. It takes 30 to 60 seconds to collect a reading on each of these watches.

With both the Samsung Galaxy Watch and Amazfit smartwatch, you will need to perform an arm cuff calibration once a month. That process includes wearing the watch and arm cuff to capture your blood pressure three times while the watch's algorithm is calibrated for accuracy.

The results

I thought for sure that the BP Doctor Fit would provide the most accurate results, given that it mimics an arm cuff, so I was surprised to see it regularly measure about 15 mmHg higher on the systolic number, while the diastolic number was within 2 to 4 mmHg. It also had the most inconsistent readings and produced the most errors while taking readings, requiring multiple sessions to obtain results.

Millions of people wear Samsung Galaxy Watch models, and blood pressure monitoring has been available outside of the US for years. While results were fairly consistent, my readings showed that the Galaxy Watch Ultra was usually 12 to 14 mmHg higher for systolic readings and 10 mmHg lower for diastolic readings, which meant that it rarely matched the arm cuff readings from my Garmin Index BP device.

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Amazfit's results were surprising since they were always within 2 to 4 mmHg in both the systolic (upper) and diastolic (lower) numbers when compared to the Garmin Index BP Monitor.

Writer's verdict

Given that I am currently on a low-dose blood pressure medication and have been losing weight and improving my fitness, monitoring my blood pressure outside of annual physical exams is important, as I hope to get off the medication soon. The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra and Balance 3 showed me that accurate blood pressure readings can be taken throughout the day, and such accuracy is a major factor in making a decision to wear an Amazfit watch as my daily smartwatch.

Buy the Amazfit at Amazon

Given that Amazfit has been releasing new watches at a blistering pace and offering compelling features at a reasonable price, I hope to see FDA clearance for its watches in the future, too. With the vast support for activities, integrated LED flashlights, long battery life, and improvements in the Zepp smartphone application, it is easy for me to recommend a compatible Amazfit smartwatch for blood pressure monitoring and everything else.

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