Three of the four most popular artificial intelligence (AI) search tools accurately identified home blood pressure monitors that met validated clinical standards only 63% to 83% of the time, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2026. The meeting, held in Arlington, Virginia, October 7-11, 2026, is a premier scientific exchange focused on recent advances in high blood pressure research.
High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease, affecting more than 125 million U.S. adults, about 47%, according to the American Heart Association's 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update. Yet only about 1 in 4 of those adults have their blood pressure within the target range of less than 120/80 mm Hg. The The 2025 American Heart Association Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults recommends using a validated home blood pressure monitor, which can be confirmed at www.validatebp.org.
In the study, researchers tested 324 home blood pressure monitors—145 validated and 179 not validated—using four AI tools: Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. Google Gemini performed best, answering correctly 86% to 91% of the time, while the other three tools ranged from only 63% to 83% accuracy. All four tools were less accurate at identifying validated devices compared to unvalidated ones. When researchers retested devices with mixed results, the AI tools often gave different answers on different days or computers.
"We found that most AI tools performed only slightly better than if you had flipped a coin for each question," said Anna Soriano, M.D., a third-year internal medicine resident at the University of Montreal and the study's presenting author. "People may unknowingly think a device is validated based on the AI tool's inaccurate responses. Using that device may result in inaccurate blood pressure readings, which could lead to an inappropriate diagnosis or treatment decisions."
The findings underscore the importance of verifying device validation through independent registries such as validatebp.org. Keith C. Ferdinand, M.D., FAHA, an American Heart Association volunteer expert and vice chair of the Association's 2025 High Blood Pressure Guideline, emphasized caution: "The potential shortcomings of AI demonstrated by this study's results should remind clinicians and the public that the use of AI for clinical decision-making requires caution. In addition, home blood pressure devices need to be both validated and accurate."
For patients and healthcare professionals, this means double-checking AI-generated information about blood pressure monitors against official registries. Relying solely on AI could lead to using unvalidated devices, resulting in inaccurate readings that may cause inappropriate treatment. The study's authors note that AI technology is rapidly evolving, so these results may change over time. The abstracts will be published in the Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2026 Supplement of the Hypertension journal. Additional resources include the American Heart Association's Home Blood Pressure Monitoring page and news release on Only 1 in 7 online health images show proper technique to accurately measure blood pressure. For more information, visit heart.org and stroke.org.
