What you need to know
- Samsung Health has posted a notice to Galaxy Watch users in the US that Vascular Charge will be gone with app v7.0 and One UI 9 Watch in July.
- The company says it will replace this with “Blood Pressure Trends,” which checks your blood pressure “in time” to show your (potentially) changing trends.
- Vascular load was part of the Galaxy Watch 8’s Preventative Care feature and would measure blood flow and artery stiffness while you sleep.
Samsung has reportedly informed Galaxy Watch users that they will lose the heart health feature in the next major update.
Samsung posted a notice in its Health app this week titled “Vascular load labs feature will be discontinued.” A User on Reddit brought awareness to this notification as it may affect Galaxy Watch users soon (via 9 to 5 Google). Starting with version v7.0 of the Samsung Health app, the company says and A UI 9 Watch, Vascular Load will disappear for US users.
Samsung says that the One UI 9 Watch is expected to debut this month (July). Users are starting to wonder when older devices (Watch 8, Watch 7, etc.) will be able to see this patch. Despite Samsung’s confirmed July release for One UI 9 Watch, there hasn’t been a beta for the watch app yet.
Vascular load modification will be Samsung’s “Blood Pressure Trends” feature. The feature will “periodically check your blood pressure to show a trend over time. It will also give you tips to support healthy habits,” the notice says. Samsung adds that these trends will be present in the next series, the Galaxy Watch 9. He stresses, as always, that Blood Pressure Trends is just a “healthcare” feature and any concerns should be discussed with your doctor.
Preventive Maintenance
Vascular Charge was one of Samsung Preventive Maintenance features This is highlighted for the Galaxy Watch 8. Many of the features under this umbrella focused primarily on the user’s heart, and Vascular Charge was no different. His focus was to help highlight the tension in your heart. Samsung says the Galaxy Watch 8 uses PPG waveforms to measure “blood flow and vessel stiffness throughout the night.”
These statistics are primarily influenced by a person’s stress, diet, and sleep. It states that if left unchecked, consistently “high” Vascular Load can lead to more serious health problems. Sad to see it go; However, Blood Pressure Trends misses the mark Blood pressure monitoring feature. After months of talking about it and working to clear regulatory hurdles, Samsung introduced Blood Pressure monitoring in March.
Users are required to use the upper arm cuff to calibrate their Galaxy Watch for the first time and every 28 days thereafter.
Android Central’s Take
It’s a shame this feature is gone. Seeing metrics about your heart rate gives users another keyhole into their overall health. Another piece of information to consider is whether there’s anything you need to change, like what you’re eating or how much sleep you’re getting. It is equally important to understand your blood pressure. Who knows, maybe we won’t miss it.
