BreathNow app

BreathNow is a powerful blood pressure app which includes a blood pressure tracker,  heart rate monitor and breathing exercises for high blood pressure. Track your blood pressure, measure pulse and get them into the normal range with breathing exercise, meditations and more. iOS version also works on Apple Watch.

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The BreathNow heart rate monitor takes readings from your phone’s camera and also calculates HRV and stress level. This helps to identify calming breathing exercises and meditations which produce positive results for you. Check pulse with your phone’s camera, save heart rate monitor readings in the tracker, perform a breathing exercise or meditation, check your pulse and stress again.  

 

Key app features:

+Measure heart rate with your phone’s camera

+Track and lower blood pressure and pulse with breathing exercises,  meditations and more

+Breathe, meditate and perform easy  exercises to reduce blood pressure and pulse long term 

+Heart rate monitor helps to select breathing exercises and meditations which work for you

+Share the data with your doctor

 

Heart health vitals  analysed by the blood pressure app BreathNow:

+Systolic (systolic blood pressure readings),

+Diastolic (diastolic blood pressure readings),

+Pulse (heart pressure checker) ​

 

Health data entered by users in the BreathNow app are encrypted and sent to user Apple Health or Android Health Connect accounts. 

 

The list of  breathing exercises in the app includes Lower blood pressure, Awake, 478 Lower BP (478 breathing exercises), IMST Lower BP, Lower Pain, Calm Anxiety, Deep Sleep, Balance to lower pulse, Focus (box breathing) and Energise breathing techniques. 

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Questions and Answers

Please note that BreathNow app versions on Android and iOS are built on the same underlying technology, however the exact feature sets are different for Android and iOS. Please consult BreathNow app descriptions respectively on Google Play and Apple AppStore to explore exact set of features. 

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How exactly does the BreathNow app benefit my health? 

BreathNow helps users to reduce their heart health risks (including lower blood pressure and heart rate) and provides a set of short activities which help users to feel better immediately. Without medications. BreathNow identifies potential heart health risks, i.e. elevated heart rate, elevated blood pressure or irregular heart rhythm from user data stored securely in Apple Health, alerts a user and suggests potential actions. 

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Users also can measure their heart rate, HRV/stress changes or cardio fitness through the phone's camera. No extra sensors needed. Users can track their blood pressure changes and learn insights re which activities impact these changes. BreathNow requires an external blood pressure monitor to take blood pressure readings. BreathNow includes a broad set of video guides for healthy heart living, slow breathing guides, meditations, easy aerobic and isometric exercises, calming music and more. BreathNow also helps users to lower anxiety and stress and fall asleep faster. BreathNow stress monitor and breathing exercises are also available for Apple Watch. BreathNow also includes a cardio fitness test and My Environment assessmet developed together with the scientists from the University of Cambridge (UK). 

 

Who may benefit from using the BreathNow app? 

Everyone who cares about their heart being healthy will benefit from using BreathNow. BreathNow will be especially useful for those experiencing anxiety, elevated heart rate and/or elevated blood pressure. In many situations these conditions may be alleviated with the help of calming activities. BreathNow includes video guides with many calming activities, i.e. slow breathing, meditations, calming music, stretching exercises etc. Users can track their heart rate, stress and blood pressure in the app and see what activities provide the most positive impact. Users are encouraged to discuss with their medical providers how to integrate BreathNow better into their overall treatment plans. Users can also share their progress from the app with their doctors remotely. 

 

How is BreathNow different from other heart health apps? 

Most heart health apps on the market provide just tracking functionality for heart rate, blood pressure, steps etc. There are other apps which provide general guidance for breathing, meditation, etc. And then there are apps which focus on exercise workouts. BreathNow is different because it complements heart health tracking functionality with specific tools to lower anxiety, heart rate, blood pressure and stress right in the app. BreathNow not only alerts you to potential heart health risks, it also guides you on how to lower them and in some cases helps users to feel better immediately. 

 

How do I experience an immediate benefit from using BreathNow? 

You may consider starting from taking your heart rate and stress reading with an iPhone camera. If your heart rate or stress are elevated, you may try one of the calming breathing exercises or a meditation. Measure stress and heart rate again and see how this activity worked for you. 

 

Does BreathNow replace my medical provider? 

Absolutely not! BreathNow is not a medical tool.  It does not provide medical advice or suggests a medical treatment. BreathNow can complement a treatment process as directed by a medical professional and we strongly recommend BreathNow users to discuss with their doctors how to use BreathNow in a better way for their specific situations. The BreathNow team doesn’t accept any responsibility for any potential medical issues which may arise from using this app. BreathNow users should not change consumption of medicines prescribed by their doctors if they start feeling better while using Breathnow without talking to their doctors first. 

 

How did you choose heart health risks in BreathNow? 

We chose stress level, elevated resting heart rate, elevated systolic blood pressure, low daily steps, low sleep hours and irregular heart rhythm as heart health risk factors in BreathNow because these factors are highlighted by most heart health research organisations AND because they can be measured with the help of Apple technology. For example, the American Heart Association provides specific guidelines for healthy blood pressure readings. The absolute resting heart rate of a healthy adult may vary between 60-100 beats per minute. However variation from your usual resting heart rate may mean an illness so it is important to learn your normal heart rate and monitor its variations. Same applies to your daily steps and sleep hours. Hence you can set different alert levels for heart health risk areas within BreathNow. Please talk to your doctor about heart health factors specific for your situation and discuss how BreathNow could help you to address them better. 

We also included a low heart rate dip during sleep as one of the heart health risks based on this research. 

 

 

Who is the team behind BreathNow?

Our team consists of a PhD in cardiology, talented engineers and user interface designers. Our founder Dmitri, a retired hi-tech executive, used to suffer from work related anxiety and hypertension. He fixed these conditions within a year using techniques offered in BreathNow. We also collaborate closely with the scientists from the University of Cambridge (UK) who’s cardio fitness test is implemented in BreathNow. 

 

What is the science behind BreatheNow calming activities? 

Breathing exercises for wellbeing have an ancient history and are closely connected to yoga practice. Modern science has provided an explanation how breathing exercises help to control our autonomous nervous system. Generally speaking, slower deeper breathing with longer exhales stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for ‘rest and digest’ behaviour. These exercises calm us. Faster and shallower breathing with shorter exhales stimulate a sympathetic nervous system, responsible for ‘fight or flight” behaviour. These exercises make us more alert. To learn more about the science behind breathing exercises watch this expert interview or read our blog at www.breathnow.app/blog . Here is the link to the scientific publication on breathing exercises helping to lower blood pressure. Here is the link to the scientific publication on breathing exercises helping to lower anxiety. Here is a link to the scientific publication which explains why meditation helps to lower blood pressure. 

 

How does BreathNow stress monitor work? 

BreathNow uses so-called Heart Rate Variation (HRV) to measure stress. Different smartwatches (i.e Apple Watch) or mobile apps (i.e. BreathNow) record HRV data and save it to users' Apple Health account. BreathNow extracts HRV data from Apple Health to provide a user-friendly HRV/stress analysis. Hence BreathNow requires access to the user's Apple Health account. 

 

What is HRV and why is it used for the BreathNow stress monitor? 

HRV shows how the time between consecutive heartbeats changes within a period of time. If a user is stressed out, the time between heartbeats stays fairly constant. If a user is relaxed, the time between heartbeats has more variation. These variations are quite small and can be detected by ECG devices or by sensors of your smartphone’s camera or smartwatches like Apple Watch. 

 

HRV is a practical, cost effective, and non-invasive way to measure the activity of the autonomic nervous system as relates to stress. Human’s heart rate, hormones, blood pressure, glucose etc, react to life stresses and our autonomic nervous system tries to keep our internal systems in balance.

 

Heart rate and HRV are regulated by the parasympathetic  part of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Parasympathetic system (PNS) controls the so-called ‘rest and digest’ state of the body.  This is  the reason why  measuring HRV is an effective way to understand how our body is doing while trying to maintain a state of balance in response to different life stresses. 

 

Please note that HRV is different from heart rate. Two people may have the same heart rate when measured over a period of time, for example 60 BPMs. Yet one of them may be very relaxed with high HRV and the other one totally stressed out with low HRV. BreathNow inverts HRV data to make readings more intuitive: lower stress (which corresponds to higher HRV) is linked to a higher state of relaxation. And vice versa: higher stress translates into lower HRV values.  

 

HRV is a proxy for measuring Total Life Stress (TLS). That is all of the stress a user experiences in life: exercise, relationships, diet, sleep quality, lifestyle, environment, blood pressure, etc.  

 

IMPORTANT: HRV is a proxy for Total Life Stress.  Some sophisticated medical grade equipment (usually a variation of an ECG machine) can provide deep interpretation of HRV data and split it into different indicators: i.e. different types of stress, energy level, illness risk etc. However a consumer device like a smartwatch or phone camera produces HRV data which is sufficient only for basic analysis and this data cannot be used for deep analysis of stress factors. Don’t be misled by consumer apps which offer a great level of detail of HRV analysis! 

 

The other thing to be aware of is that different people have different absolute HRV values. Two people may have similar absolute HRV values with one being stressed out and the other one fully relaxed. 

 

Hence while using mobile apps and HRV to study someone’s stress it makes sense to focus primarily on two things: daily or weekly trends and stress difference between two closely spaced events, i.e. before a relaxation exercise and immediately after.  

 

 

How do I use the BreathNow HRV/stress monitor graph? 

BreathNow HRV/Stress graph shows a trend in HRV stress changes. It shows how user stress changes from one day to another. You can make  the  following conclusions based on the trend of this graph:

1. Small variations in stress from day to day, no obvious trend observed. Most likely you properly control your stress. Congratulations! 

 

1. The graph is trending up. Most likely your stress is building day to day. Try to increase quality sleep time, spend more time walking in nature, do more breathing exercises and meditations. 

 

1. The graph is trending down. This is a great opportunity to increase your energy level to be more productive. Go for a moderate intensity exercise like brisk walking, jogging, cycling or swimming. Alternatively do more Energise breathing exercises in the BreathNow app. 

 

1. The graph shows a sudden spike in stress level after a morning measurement while you exercise as usual and do not experience any other obvious stressors (i.e. too much alcohol the night before). This may be an indication that your body is fighting some sort of acute illness, i.e. stomach or viral infection. 

 

IMPORTANT: Please note that for consistent stress measurement results you need to take stress readings first thing in the morning: right after waking up, while seated on your bed.

 

How do I use the BreathNow HRV/stress monitor text prompt for BP analysis? 

 

BreathNow text prompt shows how the user's HRV/stress has changed between the two consecutive measurements. BreathNow will inform you whether your stress level increased, decreased or stayed the same after the previous measurement. 

A pilot study in young adults at risk for cardiovascular disease in the USA found a significant correlation between HRV and blood pressure levels. Higher HRV (lower stress) was associated with lower blood pressure, indicating a healthier autonomic nervous system.

The Toon Health Study in Japan also established a similar connection between HRV and home blood pressure, suggesting that tracking HRV could provide valuable insights into cardiovascular health.

These research studies show that reviewing HRV/stress changes is a great way to check how particular exercises help you to calm down and lower blood pressure (breathing, meditation, stretching, etc) or energise you (aerobic exercise like jogging or cycling, Energise breathing, etc). Take a HRV/stress measurement, perform one of the exercises in BreathNow, check HRV/stress level again. This  is a great way  to check which particular exercise produces  the best results for you. 

 

IMPORTANT: Please note that HRV helps to understand the direction of blood pressure change (up or down), it doesn’t allow taking a blood pressure reading. Use a traditional blood pressure monitor for this purpose. Also, as mentioned above HRV can be influenced by many different factors. The shorter the time between the two measurements (i.e. immediately before and immediately after the calming activity), the higher the accuracy of the result. 

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What is HRV Biofeedback for Blood Pressure? 

In recent years, biofeedback techniques have emerged as a promising approach to help individuals regulate physiological functions. One such technique is HRV biofeedback, which involves monitoring HRV and using the information to influence the autonomic nervous system. While using a biofeedback technique a user will observe a real time HRV indicator and adjust their breathing to maximize the HRV output. 

BreathNow includes the Biofeedback breathing exercises which provides enhanced calming results and helps to lower anxiety and  blood pressure even further. Apply your finger to the phone's camera, perform the breathing exercise and try to maximize the length of the green HRV bar. Longer HRV bar corresponds to a more relaxed state. 

 

Why do you recommend using Reminders in BreathNow? 

Like any lifestyle changing activity,  calming activities in BreathNow produce positive effects if repeated regularly. We recommend performing most of the activities several times per day and make them a habit. Reminders are one of the most efficient ways to make it happen. Judging by the feedback of our users, they highly value this feature of the  app. 

 

Why have you introduced breathing exercises on Apple Watch?

Sometimes you would like to relax, reduce stress and anxiety or lower your blood pressure with slow breathing without attracting too much attention. For example during an important meeting or a heated family discussion. That is where breathing exercises from BreathNow on Apple Watch help. BreathNow on Apple Watch will guide your breathing with a gentle vibration so you do not even need to look at the watch screen.  

 

How can  BreathNow help me with better sleep?  

Deep Sleep breathing exercise is available for iPhone and Apple Watch. It helps you to fall asleep faster. No need to look at the iPhone  screen while performing it.  Your iPhone will guide your breathing with a pleasant sound or gentle  vibration.  The Apple Watch  guides your breathing with gentle vibration. No need to switch off the watch after you fall asleep. Your Apple Watch will go to  sleep after you do. 

 

What is the BreathNow/Cambridge cardio test and its link to bio age? 

This test involves a user stepping up one step and then stepping down, repeated for 5 minutes. As the test progresses, the guiding voice accelerates step up  and step   down  instructions.  A user measures his or her  heart rate at the beginning and at the end of the test with the phone's camera and BreathNow calculates an approximate value of the user's so-called VO2Max. VO2Max shows the maximum consumption of oxygen per kilogram of body weight and is a generally accepted indicator of cardio fitness. The higher VO2Max - the healthier your cardiovascular system. VO2Max has been shown also to be the best single predictor of all-cause mortality. Estimate your biological (bio) age by comparing your VO2Max to other people’s VO2Max in this paper. The BreathNow team has co-developed this test in the app together with the scientists from the University of Cambridge. You can learn more about the details of this test here. 

 

How does BreathNow alert me to an Irregular Heart Rhythm (Afib)? 

Atrial fibrillation (Afib) occurs when the heart beats in an irregular pattern. If untreated, Afib can cause blood  to clot in the heart. This  can lead to stroke, heart failure or  other complications. Your Apple Watch can notify you if it sees your heart beating with an irregular rhythm that may be atrial fibrillation. This means that this alert works only if  you  wear an Apple Watch and this function is  enabled in the Apple Watch settings on your iPhone. Please use Apple instructions on how to enable this function on your Apple Watch. If you get an alert about Irregular Heart Rhythm please let your medical provider know about this as soon as possible. 

 

Can BreathNow take my blood pressure readings?

Currently (March 2025) NONE of the mobile apps available on the market, BreathNow included, allow to take blood pressure readings without an external blood pressure monitor. The Apple Watch doesn’t take blood pressure readings either. You need to use either a Bluetooth enabled blood pressure monitor to download your readings into Apple Health automatically, or enter readings into the BreathNow app manually. 

 

How to connect Bluetooth Blood Pressure Monitor to Apple Health. 

 

Please follow these Apple instructions on how to connect Bluetooth enabled blood pressure monitors to Apple Health https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iphbb8259c61/ios

 

You can find several Bluetooth enabled blood pressure monitors which Apple recommends on their website at https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/accessories/all/health-fitness

 

Alternatively you may check one of the internet forums where users discuss this topic, for example this one https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/accessories/all/health-fitness

 

Please note that BreathNow cannot be responsible for the accuracy of information presented on 3rd party services and resources. 

 

Is BreathNow free? 

Many of the features of BreathNow are free, i.e. measuring heart rate, tracking blood pressure, some of the activities, heart health alerts, cardio fitness test. Please subscribe to our Pro version to enjoy the full  functionality of the app and  all activities. You can  also sign-up for  a free limited time Trial subscription and explore premium features at no cost. If you are not happy with the premium version of the app, you can unsubscribe at any time. BreathNow subscriptions  are managed by Apple so if you are not fully happy with BreathNow please launch the Apple AppStore app on your iPhone and unsubscribe from BreathNow in your profile. 

 

How is my data used? 

Your health data are stored securely in your Apple Health or Android Health Connect accounts.  We are not  sharing this data with anyone. If you are taking the cardio fitness test, you  may choose to share your data anonymously with the University of Cambridge to contribute to heart health research. 

We are collecting anonymous data on how users use our app and use this data to fine tune the features of the app to make it better. 

 

What is the BreathNow 3in1 Program to lower BP, stress, bio age? 

Scientific research by Princeton University shows that excessive stress is linked to high blood pressure. This research also shows that as we get older, the correlation between stress and high blood pressure becomes stronger. There is also strong research data which demonstrate that lower VO2max is linked to high probability of high blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes/week  of moderate aerobic activity, like brisk walking,  as a scientifically proven way to lower blood pressure long term. Another scientific study shows that walking in nature for 2 hours/week has additional health benefits.  This means that reducing stress, walking in nature and increasing VO2max leads to lower blood pressure. BreathNow 3in1 Program is designed to lower blood pressure, stress and increase VO2max. As we explained above higher VO2max translates also in lower biological age. The 3in1 Program combines relaxation exercises (breathing, meditation, etc), walking (moderate aerobic exercise) and short High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) exercises (like Nitric Oxide dump) which increase VO2max. We deployed state of the art technology in BreathNow to measure your relaxation progress (biofeedback breathing, stress monitor) and VO2max progress with the Cambridge University step test so you know exactly where you are in your progress to lower blood pressure, stress and bio age. 

 

What are isometric exercises and why do they help to lower blood pressure?

Isometric exercises are designed to build strength without moving muscles or joints. Experts believe that isometric exercises increase the tension in the muscles when held for several minutes, then cause a sudden rush of blood when a person relaxes. This increases the blood flow, which helps to manage blood pressure in the long run. According to the research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine they are among the best exercises to lower blood pressure. 

 

What is the significance of the 1Min BP Workout Plan?

1Min BP Workout Plan offers users to perform just five 1Min workouts per day and observe improvements in health in general and in blood pressure in particular. This plan is inspired by the research by Martin Gibala, Professor of Kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. These research results are summarised in his book “The One Minute Workout”.   In this book Professor Gibala shows that short HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts are very effective in health improvement when performed daily. 

 

These short HIIT workouts also improve VO2Max. As explained above VO2Max is the leading proxy indicator of all cause mortality (higher VO2Max leads to lower mortality). A study by Tulane University suggests that taking at least 50 steps up the stairs each day can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, with climbing more than five flights of stairs daily reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease by 20%. The study, based on data from over 450,000 UK Biobank participants, assessed their susceptibility to cardiovascular disease considering various factors. Daily stair climbing was found to notably reduce the risk. Those who stopped climbing stairs during the study had a 32% higher risk of cardiovascular disease compared to consistent climbers.  

 

Based on this and also on the scientifically proven benefits of isometric workouts (see the reference above) we combined short HIIT and isometric exercises into the 1 Min BP Workout Plan which can be done anywhere without any equipment. These exercises take effort but you can start from performing them for less than a minute at the beginning and then expand to 1 minute and more for additional benefits. You can edit the starting time and order of workouts once you start following the plan. 

 

If you are just starting to exercise please consult your medical provider on how to integrate these workouts in your overall treatment plan. 

 

Where can I ask questions about the app? 

Please use the Contact Us option in the app. 

 

How do I  get more help from BreathNow team

1. Please join our private Anxiety and High Blood Pressure Support Group on Facebook. The group is  closely moderated to provide a safe environment for discussing sensitive topics, so users can learn from other  members who have similar health challenges or share their advice. Swipe up to Insights & community, swipe left to Anxiety & high BP support community. 

2. Subscribe to our YouTube channel , Instagram or TikTok for 3 new heart health and blood pressure tips every week 

3. Read our blog with updates about latest  scientific developments in managing anxiety, blood pressure, heart rate and  stress without meds on http://www.breathnow.app/blog

4. Try for free our Udemy courses on lowering blood pressure and heart rate naturally