Issue link: https://resources.mouser.com/i/1437735
22 Headline Tiltle Here Let's consider blood pressure—an important indicator of cardiovascular health and a vital sign that must be managed. The American Heart Association recommends that people with high blood pressure engage in home monitoring to evaluate whether their treatments are effective. Plenty of home-monitoring tools are already available. However, most are cuff- based and require dedicated time to capture the measurement (and these measurements aren't made continuously). Fortunately, wrist-based devices that monitor blood pressure continuously and non-invasively are becoming available. For instance, Omron Healthcare's HeartGuide is the first wearable blood-pressure monitor, and it has the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). HeartGuide is essentially a smartwatch and uses the oscillometric cuff method, the standard for medical-grade personal blood- pressure measurement. An accompanying app Figure 1: Wearables, such as smartwatches, monitor vital signs, empowering users to be more proactive about managing their health and wellbeing ANDREW BURT, Executive Business Manager, Industrial & Healthcare Business Unit, Maxim Integrated C ardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death for Americans since 1920. Also alarming is the fact that related medical and indirect costs totaled $555 billion (USD) in 2016 are expected to reach $1.1 trillion (USD) by 2035, according to the American Heart Association. It's a good thing that wearables—with their ability to provide continuous, real-time monitoring of vital signs—are getting increasingly sophisticated. Designed with advanced sensors and algorithms, along with powerful yet efficient processors, wearable devices that monitor parameters such as heart rate, blood-oxygen levels, sleep quality, and stress levels are already on the market. Research and work are underway on products for the non-invasive detection or screening of such conditions as diabetes, breast cancer, atrial fibrillation, and ultraviolet exposure. Wearables can empower people to more closely manage chronic conditions and be more proactive about addressing previously undetected health issues (Figure 1). IS PULSE TRANSIT TIME NEEDED FOR ACCURATE BLOOD-PRESSURE MONITORING FROM WEARABLES?