Google Health 5.12 adds blood pressure and pregnancy logging

Separately, Google Research has published work in Nature on an AI that flags high blood pressure using only the pulse and motion sensors found in a standard smartwatch, with no cuff needed for calibration. The neural network learned from close to 500,000 hours of sensor data and averages pulse patterns over several days to calculate a probability of hypertension.

In a study of 196 people across five US research sites, the watch identified 65.8 percent of those with high blood pressure, compared with 55.3 percent for a traditional in-office measurement. Google says the findings are folded into the blood pressure trends feature in Google Health, but the method is still a research project and does not replace a formal diagnosis.

The goal, according to Google, is to nudge people toward getting checked. The company notes that more than half of people with high blood pressure do not know they have it.

• 196 participants across five US research sites
• 65.8 percent hypertension detection rate for the smartwatch AI
• 55.3 percent detection rate for standard in-office measurement
• Trained on nearly 500,000 hours of pulse and motion sensor data
• Published in Nature; method is live in Google Health but remains a research project

For Tunisian users, the practical change is that Google Health can now act as a single place to record blood pressure readings taken at home or at a pharmacy, and to follow glucose and pregnancy data without switching apps. The update is rolling out on Android and iOS, so availability depends on the normal staged release and on the app being offered in your region.

Some features, including Google Health Coach conversations, require a Premium subscription sold separately. Google has not announced Tunisian pricing or a local launch date for Premium, so cost remains unclear.

The smartwatch hypertension detection is not a diagnosis and should not replace a doctor's measurement. Readers who track blood pressure, glucose or pregnancy have the most to gain, but anyone with concerns should treat the app as a nudge to get checked rather than a medical answer.