Early Symptoms of Hypertension: Identifying Patterns with HUAWEI’s Blood Pressure Smartwatch

Early Symptoms of Hypertension: Identifying Patterns
with HUAWEI’s Blood Pressure Smartwatch

Reading duration: Approximately 6 minutes

Published: 7/9/2024

Among the potential targets for improving health and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension represents one of the most prevalent and potentially modifiable risk factors. Despite its serious risks, hypertension often goes undiagnosed due to its lack of noticeable symptoms, making early detection crucial. In this article, I will explore how the HUAWEI WATCH D can help identify early signs of hypertension, offering an effective tool for understanding their blood pressure trends and patterns and consult a healthcare professional accordingly.

Professor Fabio Angeli

Professor Fabio Angeli, esteemed Chair of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a renowned Professor of Cardiology at the University of Insubria in Varese, Italy, leads the General Internal Medicine and Rehabilitation Cardiology units at ICS Maugeri in Tradate. Recognized as one of the top 0.1% of hypertension scholars by Expertscape, he has authored over 300 scientific publications in prestigious journals, including The Lancet and JACC.

Rethinking Hypertension: The Urgent Need to Enhance Detection and Control

HUAWEI WATCH D: Certified Health Monitoring

Daily Life Use and Detection of Masked Hypertension

Conclusion

To recognize these potential risks early or to avoid them altogether, it is advisable to measure your blood pressure regularly, even at a young age. But let's be honest—how many of us actually have a blood pressure monitor at home and only use it as precaution? Most people don't think about their blood pressure until there's a problem.

Rethinking Hypertension: The Urgent Need to Enhance Detection and Control

Much concern has been raised by recent guidelines [1-3] on the diagnosis and management of hypertension about the need for a fresh focus on hypertension recognition, and the need to revitalize hypertension control efforts [3]. This is critical because untreated hypertension can lead to severe health issues, such as:
o Coronary artery disease (CAD)
o Heart attack (myocardial infarction)
o Stroke
o Heart failure
o Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
o Aneurysm
o Hypertension-related heart disease
o Kidney diseases

Indeed, in the last years the intensity has relaxed for the identification of new patients with high blood pressure, and for the necessity to maintain blood pressure control during antihypertensive treatment [4]. This is particularly critical because many individuals with high blood pressure do not always experience symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they may include:
o Headaches
o Dizziness
o Difficulty breathing
o Nausea
o Vomiting
o Blurred or altered vision
o Anxiety

HUAWEI WATCH D: Certified Health Monitoring

However, the advent of new technologies in smartwatches has opened up new possibilities for measuring blood pressure that go beyond traditional measurements. Devices such as the HUAWEI WATCH D give us the opportunity to monitor home blood pressure and to test whether these symptoms are associated with excessively elevated or low blood pressure values.

As studies have shown, the blood pressure readings taken by the HUAWEI WATCH D are not only comparable to those obtained from a reference sphygmomanometer, but are also consistent and accurate when measured against the gold standard clinical sphygmomanometer [5-8]. Moreover, thanks to its dual-use functionality, the HUAWEI WATCH D can be comfortably worn all day, facilitating long-term monitoring and enabling the detection of both asymptomatic and symptomatic high blood pressure.

The HUAWEI WATCH D combines the functions of an advanced smartwatch with the ability to monitor our health status, including the monitoring of blood pressure, electrocardiogram heart rate, SpO2, stress, and skin temperature.

Notably, it has been validated for use according to international protocols, most notably the CE certification in EU countries [5-8].

Monioring Blood Pressure at Home with HUAWEI WATCH D

It is now out of the question that home blood pressure is a highly valuable clinical tool, and its use is constantly growing [9,10]. It is also well-documented that home blood pressure received over the past 2 or 3 decades a greater bulk of data supporting its use to refine the grading of patients into risk levels and, in general, the management of the hypertensive patient [9,10].

Daily Life Use and Detection of Masked Hypertension

I had the opportunity to try this device during usual daily life. The use of this device is very simple, and it shows that individuals may care more about blood pressure monitoring accuracy, with better compliance. Using the HUAWEI Health App, the HUAWEI WATCH D computes mean blood pressure and mean heart rate, choosing a time span ranging from 1 day to 1 month.

The HUAWEI WATCH D also offers the opportunity to detect masked hypertension [11-14]. Masked hypertension detection involves monitoring blood pressure outside of a clinical setting, often using home blood pressure monitors or wearable devices that track readings throughout the day in various environments.

Good to know

Masked hypertension is a condition where an individual's blood pressure appears normal during a medical check-up at the doctor's office but becomes elevated at home or in other environments. This discrepancy can often go unnoticed during routine visits, posing a higher risk for cardiovascular diseases. It affects approximately 1 in 7-8 individuals who have normal readings in a clinic or doctor's office.

Meta-analysis [11]of longitudinal studies that addressed the prognostic impact of masked hypertension diagnosed by ambulatory blood pressure and self-measured blood pressure(when compared with normotension)

Most importantly, subjects with masked hypertension show a 1.5x to 3x higher risk of major cardiovascular disease than those with normal blood pressure [11-14]. Several factors have been identified as possible contributors to masked
hypertension:
o Psychological stress
o Physical activity
o Cigarette smoking
o Alcohol
o Work-related stress

The HUAWEI WATCH D is recommended for personal use across a wider population and potentially offers opportunities to drive precision medicine.

The HUAWEI WATCH D may be a useful device to detect masked hypertension among subjects who appear to be more likely to have this condition, and encourage users to seek advice from a medical professional.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the HUAWEI WATCH D can be recommended for personal use across a wider population [8]. The rich data from blood pressure measurements, along with other health-related parameters recorded by the watch and corresponding app, Huawei Health APP, offer greater insight into individual health, and enable healthcare professionals to assist users more adequately in their healthcare journey.

Medical disclaimer:
The HUAWEI WATCH D and the ECG feature is intended to be used by people aged 18 years and over, but is not intended to replace any medical diagnosis or treatment. Data obtained during the use of this device and feature is for personal reference only. Before using the device, please carefully read the Quick Start Guide, Wearing Guide, and Instruction for Use.

Due to national restrictions on obtaining approval / registration as a medical device, the HUAWEI WATCH D and will only be available in selected European markets, and the ECG feature only works on watches and smartphones purchased in countries where the service is available.

- Supported smartphones: Mobile phones with Android 6.0 or compatibles, HarmonyOS 2.0 or compatibles, or iOS 12.0 or compatibles. The Huawei Health app version on your mobile phone must be 11.0 or compatibles. Please make sure that your wearable device and phone are running the latest versions before using ECG.

Heart rate, SpO2, stress and skin temperature are not medical device features, monitoring data and results are for reference only and should not be used as a basis for medical diagnosis or treatment.

[References]

1. Angeli, F.; Reboldi, G.; Trapasso, M.; Gentile, G.; Pinzagli, M.G.; Aita, A.; Verdecchia, P. European and US guidelines for arterial hypertension: similarities and differences. Eur J Intern Med 2019, 63, 3-8, doi:10.1016/j.ejim.2019.01.016.
2. Verdecchia, P.; Angeli, F.; Reboldi, G. Should we rethink the blood pressure targets in hypertension guidelines? Blood Press Monit 2022, 27, e7, doi:10.1097/01.mbp.0000905216.32172.43.
3. Verdecchia, P.; Cavallini, C.; Angeli, F. Advances in the Treatment Strategies in Hypertension: Present and Future. J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 2022, 9, doi:10.3390/jcdd9030072.
4. Angeli, F. New Perspectives and Strategies for the Management of Hypertension. J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 2023, 10, doi:10.3390/jcdd10080346.
5. Wang, L.; Xian, H.; Guo, J.; Li, W.; Wang, J.; Chen, Q.; Fu, X.; Li, H.; Chen, Q.; Zhang, W.; et al. A novel blood pressure monitoring technique by smart HUAWEI WATCH: A validation study according to the ANSI/AAMI/ISO 81060-2:2018 guidelines. Front Cardiovasc Med 2022, 9, 923655, doi:10.3389/fcvm.2022.923655.
6. Yi, L.; Lv, Z.H.; Hu, S.Y.; Liu, Y.Q.; Yan, J.B.; Zhang, H.; Li, H.B.; Chen, Q.; Li, Y.Y.; Jiang, Y.F.; et al. Validating the accuracy of a multifunctional smartwatch sphygmomanometer to monitor blood pressure. J Geriatr Cardiol 2022, 19, 843-852, doi:10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2022.11.004.
7. Zhang, W.; Zhou, Y.N.; Zhou, Y.; Wang, J.G. Validation of the watch-type HUAWEI WATCH D oscillometric wrist blood pressure monitor in adult Chinese. Blood Press Monit 2022, 27, 353-356, doi:10.1097/MBP.0000000000000608.
8. Lee, W.L.; Danaee, M.; Abdullah, A.; Wong, L.P. Is the Blood Pressure-Enabled Smartwatch Ready to Drive Precision Medicine? Supporting Findings From a Validation Study. Cardiol Res 2023, 14, 437-445, doi:10.14740/cr1569.
9. Angeli, F.; Reboldi, G.; Verdecchia, P. Home blood pressure and treatment decisions: caveat emptor. J Hypertens 2016, 34, 1494-1496, doi:10.1097/HJH.0000000000000999.
10. Verdecchia, P.; Angeli, F.; Notaristefano, F.; Reboldi, G. How Low Should We Go With Home Blood Pressure in Elderly Patients With Atrial Fibrillation?
Hypertension 2022, 79, 2706-2707, doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.20337.
11. Angeli, F.; Reboldi, G.; Verdecchia, P. Masked hypertension: evaluation, prognosis, and treatment. Am J Hypertens 2010, 23, 941-948, doi:10.1038/ajh.2010.112.
12. Angeli, F.; Reboldi, G.; Verdecchia, P. Masked Nocturnal Hypertension: A Complex Phenomenon to Detect in Clinical Practice. Am J Hypertens 2021, 34, 578-580, doi:10.1093/ajh/hpab007.
13. Verdecchia, P.; Angeli, F.; Gattobigio, R.; Borgioni, C.; Castellani, C.; Sardone, M.; Reboldi, G. The clinical significance of white-coat and masked hypertension. Blood Press Monit 2007, 12, 387-389, doi:10.1097/MBP.0b013e32824958e5.
14. Verdecchia, P.; Angeli, F.; Reboldi, G. Masked and White-Coat Hypertension: Moving to African Americans. J Am Coll Cardiol 2015, 66, 2170-2172, doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2015.09.008.
15. Franklin, S.; O’Brien, E.; Staessen, J. A. Masked hypertension: understanding its complexity. European Heart Journal 2017, 38, 1112-1118, doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehw502.

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