As someone with a family history of hypertension, I wanted to know if the cuffless tech could help me, or if they’re just pricey, anxiety-inducing doodads. The devices provided a good sense of my long-term trends, but they can’t entirely replace the arm squeeze—at least not yet.
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In 2025, the American Heart Association issued a statement saying that, while cuffless devices have potential, there are “unanswered questions” around their accuracy.
They use optical sensors to detect blood pulsing through your veins, and machine-learning models to analyze the data to estimate blood pressure. Like sleep staging, it’s an inference, not a direct measurement.
Dr. Eugene Yang, a professor at University of Washington School of Medicine and an author of the AHA’s statement, explained that while there is a rigorous testing standard around cuffs, there’s no industrywide standard for consumer wearables.
While Yang notes that health trackers can encourage healthier lifestyles—and even prompt a conversation with a physician in the event of a blood-pressure alert—he’s concerned that false negatives might give people with hypertension a false sense of security.
Some day cuffless monitors might win over physicians and the AHA. For now, they’ve got me thinking about my blood pressure, and realizing that I need to start each workday with a big, deep breath.