I tested 3 blood pressure trackers for a month - only one rivaled my Garmin Index BP Monitor

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form .

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects an estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide, according to the World Heart Federation , and it's the number one risk factor for death on a global scale. The American Heart Association estimates that half of adults in the US have high blood pressure, with a large proportion not even knowing they have the condition. There are effective means to treat high blood pressure , but it's not always easy to detect and monitor.

I exhibit symptoms of white coat syndrome , where my blood pressure spikes at the doctor's office, so it is important for me to track my blood pressure at home and throughout the day. It isn't convenient to regularly check blood pressure with an arm cuff, so I'm thankful that wearable technology companies are finding ways to help monitor blood pressure trends throughout the day.

Also: Best blood pressure watches: I tested the top models that actually work

It was great to see Apple release its hypertension notifications function, but I have yet to see any notifications from this feature, and it is not set up to monitor real-time blood pressure. However, there are a few options available that use either a calibrated blood pressure cuff or inflatable wristbands to measure your blood pressure, so I tested three popular options over the past month.