This Wearable Aims to Improve Your Blood Pressure. It’s Now in the US, and I Got a First Look

The Hilo Core blood pressure system comes with a wireless cuff and a thin wristband that can continuously track your blood pressure.Giselle Castro-Sloboda/ CNET Swiss health tech brand Aktiia announced Tuesday that its blood pressure health system, Hilo Core, is now available in the US. Backed by 22 years of research, the device delivers long-term blood pressure insights so users can better understand their heart health, which is especially significant considering that about half of US adults have high blood pressure (also known as hypertension).  According to the company, Hilo is also the world’s first blood pressure health system that combines an FDA-cleared cuff, which helps establish a baseline blood pressure reading, with a lightweight wearable wristband that provides ongoing blood pressure readings between cuff measurements. “What we’re doing here is redefining completely the experience of blood pressure from a one-graph reading with a cuff on the arm to something that is embedded into your life,” Josep Solà, Aktiia co-founder and chief technology officer, told CNET during a Zoom call.  Ahead of its US launch, I’ve spent the last few days testing Hilo. This is what I’ve learned. $90 at Hilo How Hilo works Hilo focuses on your diastolic and systolic numbers, which are used to measure blood pressure. Systolic, the number on top of your reading, measures the maximum pressure in your arteries when your heart pumps out blood, while the bottom diastolic number shows the minimum pressure in your arteries when your heart is at rest and refills with blood. Monitoring your blood pressure numbers can help prevent strokes and heart attacks. An example of how Hilo reads your blood pressure trend over the course of a week.Hilo/Giselle Castro-Sloboda/CNET I got to try Hilo firsthand and found it simple to use and set up. The Hilo Core kit includes a thin, screenless wristband wearable with a 15-day battery life and an FDA-cleared cuff that connects to a mobile app. Cuff measurements are required only during the first four days of activation for calibration, and thereafter on a monthly basis. This approach aims to give you a more comprehensive picture of your blood pressure fluctuations over time, rather than focusing on a single reading. I took my cuff readings first thing in the morning after waking up and before eating or drinking coffee because certain foods and beverages can affect your readings. After an initial four-day calibration, the Hilo cuff is used to measure your blood pressure monthly.Giselle Castro-Sloboda/CNET The cuff reading felt similar to when I have my blood pressure taken at a doctor’s office, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The only difference is that the cuff is wireless and controlled by the app. The app recommends sitting still and relaxing to get the most accurate readings. As for the Hilo band, it can capture up to 35 blood pressure readings per day. It also uses your sleep, heart rate and step count to provide contextualized insights.  To collect this data from the wrist, Hilo relies on optical blood pressure monitoring technology: photoplethysmographic — or PPG — light sensors, typically found in wearables, that can estimate blood pressure without requiring frequent cuff inflation.  The Hilo band is thin and includes light sensors that estimate blood pressure without a cuff.Giselle Castro-Sloboda/CNET After you’ve calibrated your wristband, all you need to do is wear it like any other wearable. It’s lightweight, so you barely feel it, and it continuously reads pulse waves of your arteries every 90 minutes. Setup was fast, and within minutes of the three inflating-and-deflating cycles performed by the cuff, I was able to view the cuff readings sent to the app. You can use the cuff for spot checks monthly or to validate the wearable’s readings. For individuals who need to check their vitals regularly, I can see this device mak