Hypertension (having high blood pressure) can be the cause of many long-term health problems. For this reason, both medical services and pharmacies have devices to measure blood pressure. Now, with the development of smartphone technology and its applications, we also have the possibility of measure our blood pressure with the mobile.
There are numerous apps designed for this task. Some of them are free, so they can become a very practical tool for hypertensives and, in general, for anyone concerned about their health and well-being.
In fact, the Spanish Society of Cardiology estimates that the percentage of the population that appears to have hypertension to a greater or lesser degree is over 40%. It is, therefore, a widespread problem that is of great concern to the medical community.
Are these apps trustworthy?
The fact of being able to measure our blood pressure with the mobile seems something really interesting, although it is something that has been questioned. Are these types of applications reliable? Is it really possible to measure blood pressure with a mobile phone?
The classic blood pressure monitor that we all know is a device that incorporates a cuff that inflates and then lets air out to measure the degree of blood pressure. The method used by applications to measure blood pressure is different and is based on a procedure known as transdermal optical imaging.
How does this technology work? When recording a video on human skin, light from the smartphone camera hits the arteries and bounces off the hemoglobin, reflecting red light back to the camera's optical sensor. This information is what the app collects and analyzes to measure changes in blood flow and, finally, determine the level of blood pressure.
Unfortunately, not all available applications have the proper software to perform this function, and many of them will provide inaccurate or misleading results. We could say, by way of conclusion, that these apps can be a complementary tool, not a substitute of the tensiometers of a lifetime.
Applications to measure blood pressure with the mobile
This is a selection of the best applications to measure blood pressure with your mobile phone for free. It is necessary to insist, however, that its results must be taken with some reservations, always more indicative than definitive. And, of course, when in doubt, you should always go to a medical professional:
Blood Pressure DB
One of the most reliable applications on our list, with the seal of the German developer klier.net GmbH & Co. KG. Available for both iOS and Android, BloodPressureDB It is a very easy-to-use blood pressure meter that works both in manual mode and via Bluetooth.
In addition to blood pressure, this app can also measure the heart rate or the volume of blood sugar, offering the user some very illustrative graphics. It is a free application, although to access all its features it is necessary to subscribe.
My Blood Pressure
A free app, although only available for iPhone. My Blood Pressure is a blood pressure calculator that the whole family can use. Keep track of our health with my blood pressure It is a very simple task, without any annotation limit. That is, we can use the app every day as many times as we want.
Likewise, you can record your blood pressure as many times as you want, since there is no limit to the number of entries. Once the blood pressure data is taken, the report can be sent from the app to whoever we want.
MyDiary
Only available for Android devices, MyDiary It is a good option to measure blood pressure using our mobile phone for free. This app helps us keep track of our blood pressure on a daily basis with the possibility of configuring different profiles. In this way, we can make it serve with friends and other members of our family.
Later, analyzing all the historical data, the app generates a series of graphs that we will be able to download, save, print, send by email and even show our doctor.
Blood pressure (MyHeart)
Also only available on Android, the app Blood Pressure (MyHeart) It is capable of measuring three different records: the user's blood pressure, heart rate and weight. All through a very visual and easy-to-use interface.
It includes a practical alert function to remind us when to take our blood pressure. All collected data can be downloaded in various formats.
Qardio
Another app with a high reliability index that complies with all international protocols. Combining the user's blood pressure and weight data, Qardio It provides various analytics to keep track of your health on a daily basis. All through very visual and intuitive graphics.
One of the most interesting aspects of Qardio is that it allows the synchronization of your data with that of the apps for activity bracelets, such as Google Fit, Samsung Health, Apple Health, etc. Lots of advantages and all completely free.
