Not an SOS, but a long-term warning
Apple explained it is positioning the feature as a way to uncover a chronic risk, not as an emergency alarm for heart attacks or acute events.
Hypertension typically builds up silently over time, so the goal is to nudge people to seek care early rather than trigger an instant SOS.
Once someone has been formally diagnosed with hypertension and that status is recorded in the health app, the watch no longer sends hypertension notifications.
At that point, ongoing management moves to doctor-led treatment and lifestyle changes rather than early detection.
Part of a wider health push
Hypertension notifications sit alongside Apple Watch sleep apnea detection, which looks for breathing disturbances over at least 10 nights in a 30-day period.
Users can already see nightly breathing disturbance values and receive possible sleep apnea notifications when the data shows consistent signs of moderate to severe cases.
Apple is also expanding into hearing health with AirPods Pro, offering a five-minute hearing test, personalised hearing aid features for mild to moderate hearing loss, and loud sound reduction to cut exposure to harmful noise.