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bcjgreen t1_j9a4953 wrote

How does a watch measure blood pressure?

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jordanManfrey t1_j9a7o3h wrote

They already have this in the last few galaxy watches, you calibrate it by using a real blood pressure monitor and telling it the reading a few times while it measures the intensity of your pulse (I think) and uses that as a baseline to guess (fairly accurately) what your blood pressure is the next time you ask the watch to "measure" it. It makes you re- calibrate every 30 days, and it isn't currently allowed in the US (along with ECG), though there are ways to make it work if you look around...

edit: i misremembered why I had to work around the lack of the app needed to take those measurements - they're locked to samsung's own phones I guess (again, despite it being trivial to circumvent, which really makes me wonder if samsung's marketing and leadership are in tune with, well, anything consumer-desire-related lately.)

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alabastergrim t1_j9ajxo2 wrote

(along with ECG)

This is incorrect. ECG is on US watches

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jordanManfrey t1_j9am51w wrote

idk I'm in the US and it wouldn't even let me download the "health connect" or whatever app. Maybe it's an ATT thing

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Nerdlinger-Thrillho t1_j9auf7z wrote

It's a US thing. They couldn't get approval from the FDA or something. It's on there. People were using some workaround.

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sillyhatsonlyflc t1_j9aybj7 wrote

Hmm. I never did any sort of workaround. My 4 Classic just came with ECG out of the box. I live in and purchased it in California.

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Ralliman320 t1_j9b1wnv wrote

Same, my 4 Classic has it as well (NC). The first time I used it I thought it was a heart rate monitor 🤡. It's definitely an ECG.

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Crintor t1_j9ber90 wrote

Had ecg on my watch 4 and 5 pro in the US.

Only BP is restricted.

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huzernayme t1_j9bxwpq wrote

No workaround. There is a disclaimer about not using it to diagnose blahblahblah, but other then that nothing our of the ordinary to use it.

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Nerdlinger-Thrillho t1_j9ca0h2 wrote

There isn't a workaround, but there was before. I think it was a side load kind of thing, but by the time I got to it it was out of date.

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MarginalLlama t1_j9avx8j wrote

Do you by chance know the work around? I've been trying but couldn't figure it out.

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mazzimar7 t1_j9d6fer wrote

I have att and it works on my 3 series. But it came preloaded with the health trackers and apps.

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Trouthunter65 t1_j9b1ak2 wrote

Yup, set this up last week in Canada. Pretty accurate

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PunchingEskimos t1_j9b9qq1 wrote

What is it if yiu don't mind me asking? Also from Canada. Got the 5 Pro.

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BadManPro t1_j9bpzvk wrote

Blood pressure and ECG.

On my watch 4 it was just swiping till i got the blood pressure and ecg tiles, clicking it and then just setting it up as instructed.

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PunchingEskimos t1_j9c2cso wrote

Oh weird. My 5 doesn't let me set up anything because I can't download the health monitor app for some reason.

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BadManPro t1_j9c4d0r wrote

I read on this thread elsewhere if your in the US you cant.Might wanna check if its like that in your country. Regardless there should be a workaround on google.

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Trouthunter65 t1_j9c97v6 wrote

Hey no problem, my father in law is wearing a galaxy watch 4 classic paired with a galaxy S7. You need to install Samsung health monitor app, Samsung health app and for good measure galaxy wearable app (don't know if necessary but why not). I specifically bought this for him for fall detection and tracking, hence, all in on Samsung. You will need a blood pressure monitor to calibrate the watch. Add blood pressure monitor to your tiles and it will walk you through the process. It takes about 20 minutes. My FIL is able to use it (he's 87 and not even remotely techie), it also transfers the info to his phone and keeps a record for him to show doctor. The ECG also works (couldn't tell you what it does). Good luck

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dustofdeath t1_j9cjbhj wrote

The calibration part is why I never use it.

If I had a real monitor, I would use that instead anyways.

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Time-Button4999 t1_j9adh59 wrote

>It makes you re- calibrate every 30 days

Having purchased and returned a blood pressure monitor from Amazon last week for mine and the wife's new watches, this makes me sad.

Have to increment them every 2 weeks and calibrate off eachother :D

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Reeybehn t1_j9aft5w wrote

Great so you saved a few bucks and there’s now a device that can no longer be sold and was made dirty by you going to a landfill. Top job man 😒 excellent use of resources

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scirc t1_j9ajats wrote

Pretty sure Amazon takes all returns, pallets then up, and sells them in bulk regardless of what they are. Maybe for like, sex toys, they'd throw stuff away instead.

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Reeybehn t1_j9ajv05 wrote

Some things get resold in bulk, many others like wearables, medical devices you use on skin etc might well be thrown away. Either way it’s just a scummy thing to do still.

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[deleted] t1_j9al9pd wrote

[deleted]

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Reeybehn t1_j9alh23 wrote

It’s the blood pressure sensor he’s talking about not the watch l. Either way it’s still a dick thing to do. Buying products you plan to use once to then return. Wastes resources nonetheless. Product needs to be checked again, repacked etc and is only probably sold again in a bulk

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Not_as_witty_as_u t1_j9aom1h wrote

No, even if it costs less to clean, refurbish, repackage etc the profit margins are so small that it’s not worth the time so it goes in the trash. There’s plenty of articles about it, the waste is gross.

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UsecMyNuts t1_j9apsf8 wrote

And they’re carried over to the supplier, not amazon.

Why even bother talk if you clearly don’t know what you’re talking about?

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Reeybehn t1_j9bwbly wrote

It’s not about money man. Unused stuff ending up in the trash is bad for all of us for multiple reasons. It’s a waste of money, sure. It’s also a waste of resources packing and shipping. Waste of resources used to make the product.

Then when enough people do this the price of shipping and returns (not generally as relevant for Amazon but definitely for other retailers) goes up and everyone complains. Price of products goes up (definitely also relevant for Amazon) to compensate for the money they spend on this waste and guess what, everyone complains again. Its a net loss for everyone involved: produced, retailer, consumer, and our planet.

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DoritoAssassin t1_j9anvls wrote

Remember that you have to also must have a Samsung phone for this work. Caveat Emptor

Sent from my Google Pixel 7 Pro

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AbaloneLopsided7992 t1_j9bsqob wrote

Pretty neat how it works. The watch will use the same technology that the ECG will use (electrical signal) and the same technology for PulesOX (blood flow). It looks at the difference between the electrical pulse and the subsequent flow of blood to determine the pressure. This is why it needs to be calibrated- everyone will have slightly different arm lengths or other irregularities. The calibration tells the watch how to calculate the differences, and then spits out and amazingly accurate blood pressure number.

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