Smart ring manufacturer Oura is launching two new features focused on heart health, the company announced on Friday. The first is designed to help users get an idea of their cardiovascular age, while the second function is aimed at estimating their cardiocapacity. Depending on the results of a person, Oura will offer strategies on how to sleep better, move and relieve stress.
The new features should not be used to replace actual health care and regular check-ups with a doctor, and users should consult a doctor to get an actual diagnosis if they are worried about something. Oura itself points out that an Oura ring is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, monitor or prevent diseases / illnesses.
The new “Cardiovascular Age” feature is designed to help users understand their cardiovascular age in relation to their chronological age. The idea is to identify behaviors that could have a positive impact on your lifespan. For example, if a user has a cardiovascular age higher than his chronological age, a message may appear that reads: “Your cardiovascular age is currently above your actual age. Don’t worry, many things can cause this. One of the best means is exercise.” Of course, you also want to consult a doctor.
After a person has been using the Oura app for at least two weeks, a cardiovascular age metric will be displayed indicating whether he is trending below, above, or in accordance with his chronological age. Again, the results should be checked by an actual doctor.
“Oura measures cardiovascular age by analyzing age-related observations within a photoplethysmograph (PPG) signal that contains information about estimated arterial stiffness and pulse wave velocity (PWV),” the company explained in a press release.
The “Cardio Capacity” function is based on an estimate of VO2MAX, which is a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen that a person can consume during intense or strenuous training. The better a person’s cardiocapacity is, the healthier his cardiovascular system is likely to be throughout his life.
Oura says that with the introduction of this feature, an attempt is being made to turn VO2 Max from a sports metric into a benchmark for life expectancy. An estimate of VO2MAX shows how well a person’s heart, lungs, blood vessels, muscles and nervous system work together, says Oura.
In order to be able to use this function, Oura members are asked to perform a walking test to determine a VO2MAX baseline value, which is translated into cardio capacity.
“In collaboration with state-certified cardiologists and scientists at research institutions such as the Kuopio Research Institute of Exercise Medicine (KULTU) and the University of California at Los Angeles, as well as the Medical Advisory Board of ŌURA, we have consistently advanced our science and algorithms to ensure that these functions provide accurate insights for Ōura’s broad and diverse membership base,” said Dr. Shyamal Patel, Senior vice president of Science of Oura, in the press release.
According to Oura, the goal of these two new functions is to approach health holistically, while helping users understand that every part of their physiology is intertwined, in the sense that a person’s cardiovascular age and cardiocapacity have an impact on multiple organ systems.
Oura Cardiovascular Age and Cardio Capacity will be launched after this month and will be available on Oura Ring Gen3 devices for both Android and iOS.
