Huawei Watch D2: discreet blood pressure measurement on your wrist

According to the WHO, 1.28 billion people worldwide suffer from high blood pressure, in Germany it is 35 million, that is 44% and therefore almost every second person. Persistent high blood pressure is considered a silent killer because you often don’t notice any symptoms. It is a breeding ground for heart attack, stroke, kidney and eye damage, arteriosclerosis and dementia. With the Watch D2, Huawei brings a 24-hour blood pressure monitor that is medically certified in the EU under CE (MDR) and that you wear as a normal smartwatch at the same time.

How the Watch D2 measures

It measures with a cuff built into the strap. You can measure manually or set up automatic measurement at a fixed interval. A short vibration announces the start. Then you sit up straight, bring the watch to heart level and sit still for a few seconds. The measurement is completely silent and can be done discreetly even in a meeting.

For 24-hour monitoring, the watch also measures at night, then without vibration. I’ll be honest: I woke up from the cuff inflating and releasing again, and I turned off the night measurement. If you have ever been given a 24-hour cuff by your doctor that you have to walk around and sleep with all day, this is the lesser evil.

How accurate are the readings?

That was the most important question for me. I compared it several times with another certified blood pressure monitor. The results largely match. In line with the certification, the Watch D2 deviates by 5% at most from a conventional device. So you can rely on the measurements.

The watch is the world’s first smartwatch to be approved as an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring device (ABPM) by both the NMPA in China and under the requirements of the MDR in Europe. The leading international guidelines explicitly recommend ambulatory blood pressure monitoring as the preferred method for diagnosing and treating high blood pressure. A measurement at the family doctor every few weeks is only a brief snapshot.

Display, app and report

You read the results on the 1.82-inch AMOLED display or in the Health app. There you can look at the individual values and export a complete report as a PDF that you can show your doctor. The only drawback: the app is not in the App Store or Play Store, you have to download it from the Huawei website. That is a small detour, but the app guides you through the whole process. The watch is compatible with Android and iOS.

More than a blood pressure monitor

The Watch D2 creates ECG analyses and measures sleep, sleep breathing, blood oxygen, heart rate, stress level and skin temperature. That way you see how sleep, stress, exercise and diet affect your blood pressure. You basically know all of this already, but seeing in black and white how 8 hours of sleep and a few thousand steps affect heart rate and blood pressure is motivating. Even little things like a walk during your lunch break or not eating too late make a difference.

As a smartwatch, it can also:

• track 80 sports
• show notifications
• make phone calls, thanks to the built-in speaker

Visually, I like the watch in black and in gold. It is a bit thicker, but it looks like a modern smartwatch and not like a medical device. You can’t see the cuff under the strap.

Price

The RRP is €399.

Verdict

I believe this smartwatch can make many people’s lives better and easier because it gives them back control over their own health. If someone in your family has high blood pressure, you should consider it as a birthday or Christmas present. The big advantage is above all measuring discreetly and without much effort. The disadvantages include the somewhat larger thickness, the app outside the stores and the night measurement, which woke me up.