Google AI detects high blood pressure with a smartwatch, no cuff needed

Catching high blood pressure early usually needs a blood pressure cuff, and single readings can easily be thrown off by everyday noise.

Google published new research in Nature on an AI system called AI-PPG-ACC-HTN. It needs no cuff and works with normal smartwatches, quietly collecting body signals over many days to spot lasting signs of high blood pressure.

The AI was trained on more than 490,000 hours of unlabeled data, using height and multi-day averages to score blood pressure risk. In trials across 5 US clinics with 196 people, it caught 65.8% of cases in early screening, with 96.7% accuracy in follow-up checks.

The technology now supports the blood pressure trend feature in the Google Health app, offering a new way to screen for high blood pressure in daily life.