Monitoring Wristwatch

Sleep and Blood Pressure Have an Interesting Relationship. Normally, a person’s BP drops to its lowest level during REM sleep, but patients suffering from sleep apnea can experience both disturbed sleep and elevated diastolic BP, indicating cardiovascular stress.  Taking BP readings at night, outside of a dedicated sleep center, has been difficult, though Hewlett-Packard and a Singapore company, Healthstats, may have created a highly useful tool for 24/7 monitoring-a wristwatch-like device that continuously gathers data and sends it wirelessly to a cell phone, which then transmits it to a physician’s office or other location for interpretation.  The sensor is first calibrated using a standard BP cuff.  Considering that hypertension is the most common human affliction, 24/7 BP monitoring could be a medical breakthrough of enormous importance.   MORE

Image Credit: Healthstats and Technology Review