Blood pressure monitoring arrives for Galaxy Watch users in the US

Samsung has been offering blood pressure monitoring on its smartwatches for a while. However, the feature isn't available in all countries as it is subject to approval by a country's health agency. One such country that previously didn't have the feature approved is the USA, but that has changed now as Samsung says blood pressure monitoring is now available to users in the US.

According to Samsung, the blood pressure monitoring feature is rolling out in phases, and definitely follows approval by the FDA. It is available for owners of the Galaxy Watch 4 and later models, including the Galaxy Watch 8 (available on Amazon for $349.99) and Galaxy Watch 8 Classic.

The blood pressure monitoring feature works by measuring systolic and diastolic blood pressure along with a user's heart rate using the watch's internal heart rate monitoring sensors. However, owners of a compatible Galaxy Watch are required to calibrate their smartwatches with an upper arm cuff blood pressure monitor on first use and every 28 days to ensure accuracy. If you don't already have one, you will have to purchase it. Users will be able to view their results on the watch and on the Samsung Health Monitor app.

Samsung has also announced that later this year, it will introduce passive monitoring, so that users can see their blood pressure trends over time.