How to Sign up to Test Oura’s New Blood Pressure Monitoring Feature
Blood pressure alerts on the Apple Watch may soon get a competitor. Oura, the smart ring maker, plans to seek FDA approval for its own high blood pressure alert feature. Oura participants will soon be able to register for a study in the Oura app.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, can lead to heart and blood vessel problems over time . That’s why doctors measure it during office visits, and people with high blood pressure may take medication or resort to diet and exercise to try to control it.
What Oura is planning for its blood pressure monitoring feature
Oura’s press release states that the feature will be called “Blood Pressure Profile” and will only require the Oura ring itself; a blood pressure cuff is not required. The app won’t report actual blood pressure, but it will inform users whether they have “no signs,” “moderate signs,” or “severe signs” of hypertension. Those who are found to have “severe signs” will be advised to consult a doctor.
How to join the Oura blood pressure study
Oura announces that it has received institutional review board (IRB) approval to conduct a study involving Oura members. (The organization is not disclosing the name of its partner.) According to Oura, study participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire about their family history, medications, and lifestyle. Oura will use these responses along with data collected through the Oura survey. More information about the study can be found on Oura’s website here .
Oura says the study is now available in the Oura Labs section of the app. (I don’t have it in my section, but I assume it will be there soon.) To find Oura Labs, tap the menu icon in the upper left corner of the app, then select Oura Labs. This screen displays experimental features and links to studies participants can sign up for.
Participants in the study were 22 years of age or older, residents of the United States, using the English version of the app and a third- or fourth-generation Oura ring. Participants who were pregnant, less than 12 weeks postpartum, or had cardiac implants, such as pacemakers, were not eligible.