Apple Watch Hypertension Notifications Now Available in Malaysia

When the Apple Watch Series 11 first launched, one of the headline health features introduced was hypertension notifications. Designed to alert users if signs of chronic high blood pressure are detected, the feature was initially unavailable in Malaysia pending regulatory approval. That has now changed, with hypertension notifications officially rolling out locally.

Hypertension notifications on Apple Watch use data from the optical heart sensor to analyse how a user’s blood vessels respond to each heartbeat. The system works passively in the background, reviewing data collected over 30-day periods, and will notify users if it detects consistent patterns associated with hypertension. This approach is designed to surface long-term trends rather than rely on single, isolated readings.

Apple notes that hypertension notifications are not intended to detect every case of high blood pressure. However, given the widespread adoption of the Apple Watch, the company estimates that the feature could notify more than one million people worldwide who may be living with undiagnosed hypertension within its first year of availability.

If a user receives a hypertension notification, Apple recommends logging blood pressure readings for seven days using a third-party blood pressure cuff. These readings can then be shared with a healthcare provider at the user’s next visit, in line with current clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of hypertension.

Hypertension remains the leading modifiable risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease, affecting an estimated 1.4 billion adults globally. It is often undiagnosed due to its lack of obvious symptoms, infrequent medical check-ups, and the fact that a single blood pressure measurement during a clinic visit may fail to capture the condition.

Hypertension notifications can be set up through the Health app on iPhone and are available in Malaysia on Apple Watch Series 9 and later, as well as Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later.