Tracking blood pressure provides vital insights into the health of your heart and circulatory system. It empowers you to identify issues early and take timely corrective actions through lifestyle changes or medical intervention. This is crucial considering the rising prevalence of cardiovascular diseases due to sedentary lifestyles and changing food habits.
As per the American College of Cardiology, nearly half of American adults suffer from hypertension today. And guess what? Most people remain oblivious in the early stages due to lack of routine monitoring. This makes at-home tracking through mobile apps more valuable than ever before.
In this comprehensive guide, we will first look at who needs to track BP and why. Next, we will explore how these mobile apps utilize inbuilt smartphone sensors to measure blood pressure. We have also shared some tips from medical research on how you can maintain healthy BP levels.
Further ahead, you will find an unbiased feature comparison and reviews of the top 9 blood pressure tracking apps for Android. We have evaluated apps based on ease of use, reliability, useful features and actual user feedback to compile this list.
So without further ado, let us get this detailed guide started!
Who Needs to Monitor Their Blood Pressure Routinely?
Medical experts suggest that individuals suffering from prehypertension or at high risk of developing high BP should monitor their levels regularly. This includes:
👉 Those above 60 years of age: The risk increases substantially for older adults.
👉 People with diabetes, heart disease or obesity.
👉 Individuals with family history of BP issues.
👉 Those with high cholesterol levels and smoking habits.
👉 Anyone with high stress levels on a regular basis.
However, routine tracking helps even otherwise healthy adults identify early changes and take corrective actions. So do consider getting your own easy-to-use home monitoring kit.
How Do These Apps Measure Blood Pressure?
These innovative apps utilize built-in smartphone sensors to measure your BP. Two key methods used are:
➡️ Optical Sensing: Place your finger over the camera lens as the app captures videos of blood flow. Algorithms then analyze the recordings to determine systolic and diastolic pressure.
➡️ Pulse Transit Time (PTT): Here two sensors – microphones and accelerometer/gyroscope are used. The mic detects heartbeats while the other records pulse waves through your fingertip. The time difference between pulse wave and heartbeat determines BP.
While medical-grade arm monitors provide more precise readings, these apps offer simpler continuous tracking. Though it is a good practice to validate mobile app results once in a while with proper monitors like Omron.
Now let us look at 9 top-rated and most reliable Android apps for BP monitoring.
9 Highly Rated Android Blood Pressure Apps Worth Trying
1. MelStudio Blood Pressure Tracker
One of the highest rated BP tracking apps on Play Store with over 500K installs, MelStudio makes monitoring your blood pressure easier through an intuitive interface.
I love how they have included useful analytic features that most other apps lack. You can track long term progress through interactive graphs and stay motivated.
Some key aspects that make MelStudio a top choice:
✓ Detailed analytics of BP trends
✓ Handy measurement reminders
✓ Option for multi-user support
✓ Simple export and backup capabilities
Overall, MelStudio is a dependable way to stay on top of your heart health through blood pressure tracking.
Installs: 500,000+
Rating: 4.6
2. Blood Pressure Diary – MedM
Trusted by thousands of heart patients worldwide, the Blood Pressure Diary by MedM offers advanced tracking coupled with powerful analytics. Their easy-to-understand graphs and tables give you deep insights.
I also love their innovative medication reminder and cloud backup capabilities that take the app a notch above basic trackers.
Some of its other awesome features:
✓ Option to export PDF/ Excel summaries
✓ Notes section to log symptoms
✓ Multi-user support
For comprehensive tracking and management of your blood pressure, MedM Diary is definitely worth considering.
Installs: 100,000+
Rating: 4.5
3. AVAX BP Monitor
What makes AVAX BP Monitor unique is how it provides personalized health recommendations based on your tracked vitals and other information you feed in.
So apart from easy BP tracking, it also allows you to log related metrics like stress, sleep, diet and exercise. Powerful yet simple analytic graphs help identify interconnections.
I also love how security and privacy have been given due importance by the developers with end-to-end encryption.
Notable features of AVAX Blood Pressure:
✓ Personalized health advice and tips
✓ End-to-end encrypted data
✓ Note-taking ability
Overall, a great app to track as well as improve your heart health in a secure manner!
Installs: 10,000+
Rating: 4.1
4. BloodPressureDB – Blutdruckdaten
One of the most popular BP tracking apps in Germany, BloodPressureDB has found favor with thousands of users worldwide as well.
It packs in all essential features you might need including multi-user support, reminders, detailed reports and data exports. The app lets you store all your measurements on Google Drive and restore easily.
I love the intuitive interface that makes navigating the app very convenient even for first-time users.
Other useful aspects:
✓ Handy analytic graphs
✓ Customizable measurement reminders
✓ Multi-lingual – English, German, Spanish
For an all-round effective solution to monitor BP across your family, do check out this app!
Installs: 100,000+
Rating: 4.5
5. SmartBP – Blood Pressure Tracker
As an intelligent tracker with advanced analytic capabilities, SmartBP simplifies monitoring blood pressure while giving you valuable insights.
The app captures all important vitals including BP, pulse rate, BMI alongside helpful contextual logs. You can set personalized healthy ranges for guidance.
I especially like how SmartBP allows you to backup and synchronize data across devices. This enables seamless tracking on the go.
Notable aspects that make it a top choice:
✓ Handy visualizations and reporting
✓ Synchronization across devices
✓ Support for multiple users
Overall, SmartBP takes the guessing work out of maintaining healthy BP. Highly recommend trying it out!
Installs: 500,000+
Rating: 4.5
6. A&D Connect
If you love the comfort and reliability of standalone upper-arm blood pressure monitors from A&D, their Connect app complements it perfectly.
It allows you to automatically sync the readings from your A&D device with comprehensive analytic capabilities of the app. This gives you best of both worlds!
Here are some notable capabilities:
✓ Auto-sync with A&D monitors
✓ Handy visual graphs
✓ Easy sharing options
So if you already own or plan to purchase an A&D monitor, their Connect app is a must-have addition.
Installs: 100,000+
Rating: 4.3
7. Walgreens BP Health
Brought to you by leading health retailers Walgreens, this app focuses on making BP tracking extremely simple and rewarding.
The motivation factor comes through rewards you earn for activities supporting heart health. You can redeem these to get discounts on health-related purchases at Walgreen stores.
In addition, it packs all essential tracking and reporting capabilities expected of a reliable BP app. The automatic data backup gives additional peace of mind.
Here is an overview of some key features:
✓ Straightforward tracking
✓ Motivation through rewards
✓ Automatic data backup
Highly rated by American users, Walgreens BP Health is ideal if you need a fuss-free solution.
Installs: 100,000+
Rating: 4.0
8. Blood Pressure App
As evident from its name, the "Blood Pressure App" focuses exclusively on reliable tracking without unnecessary bells and whistles.
I love the intuitive interface with straightforward controls to record BP, pulse rate, symptoms and medication intake details. Handy graphs allow you to visualize trends over customizable time frames.
Though app lacks some of the advanced analytics seen in costlier rivals, its simple and dependable tracking capability makes it a favorite among many seniors.
Notable aspects covered:
✓ Easy tracking
✓ Visual representation
✓ Data exports
✓ Multi-user support
For no-frills tracking of your BP, you should certainly consider giving it a try.
Installs: 500,000+
Rating: 4.5
9. Blood Pressure Stat
The final app on our list targets a narrow yet much-needed purpose – reliable recording and visualization of your BP measurements.
As a straightforward tracker sans complex analytics, Blood Pressure Stat appeals to many seniors looking for utmost ease of use.
It allows you to log systolic, diastolic values along with pulse rate on a daily basis. Neat graphs then help you analyze the trends over weekly or monthly views.
So while it misses out on some tracking features, its simplicity and reliable performance makes it worth considering.
Installs: 10,000+
Rating: 4.0
Maintaining a Healthy Blood Pressure
While tracking your BP is important, following are some tips to actually improve and maintain your levels if elevated:
✧ Lose excess weight and keep BMI under 25.
✧ Exercise for 30+ minutes daily – walk, swim, jog.
✧ Follow the DASH diet rich in grains, fruits and vegetables.
✧ Cut down sodium intake below 1500mg per day.
✧ Limit alcohol to 1 drink per day for women and 2 for men.
✧ Manage stress through yoga, mindfulness and adequate sleep.
Over to You!
So there you have it – our detailed guide on tracking blood pressure using mobile apps on Android platforms. We have covered the key benefits, technology behind these apps along with top choices worth trying out.
I especially loved MelStudio, MedM Diary and SmartBP apps for their advanced analytics that give you actionable insights. But do compare features to pick the right fit as per your preferences.
Here is wishing you great heart health ahead! Do bookmark and share this guide if you found it useful.
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