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Empirical Health

empirical.health/blog

Empirical Health, wearables, and the future of proactive primary care.

ScienceAI / MLMobile / iOS / Android

’22’23’24’25’26
Posts
163 from 15 Jul 2022 to 30 Oct 2026
Posting
weekly (97 in the last year)
Kind
company blog

2026 94

  1. How Grail Galleri's accuracy varies by cancer type One blood test, very different detection rates: what the cancer-by-cancer results do and don't tell us. Oct 30, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  2. Grail's cancer test produces fewer false positives than I expected Oct 29, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  3. Lipoprotein(a) differs by 35% among South Asian groups In a US cohort, country-of-birth medians ranged from 17 to 23 mg/dL, though the smallest group had only 18 people and rankings differed in the UK. Oct 28, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  4. 34% of U.S. women under age 50 have iron deficiency under new guidelines Oct 28, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  5. Very low cholesterol targets cut cardiovascular events by 33% In people with established cardiovascular disease, targeting LDL below 55 mg/dL reduced three-year event rates from 9.7% to 6.6%. Oct 25, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  6. Building a 3D simulator for iPhone Duo Recreating the frosted-glass illusion to keep app content in place while the phone unfolds. Oct 22, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  7. LDL-lowering medications: how to get a 20%, 50%, or 80% reduction Sep 29, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  8. Does insurance cover the Galleri test? Sep 28, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  9. Foods that lower cholesterol: a guide to better meal swaps Sep 27, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  10. Should you get the Grail Galleri test? Analyzing false positives and false negatives Sep 23, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  11. Why the iPhone Duo fold animation works so well Sep 15, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  12. Apple Watch's 4th-generation heart rate sensor: layout, features, and accuracy Sep 12, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  13. Apple Health Age: the seven petals, supported devices, and the science Sep 10, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  14. Apple Watch readiness score: how it works Sep 9, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  15. Apple Watch now tracks heart rate continuously Sep 8, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  16. Heart disease risk scores compared: PREVENT, SCORE2, ASCVD, and more Aug 31, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  17. Cardiac imaging study found plaque in 34.6% of men in their 30s Aug 31, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  18. Cialis is promoted as a longevity drug. How does it stack up? Aug 30, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  19. Zetia (ezetimibe): LDL reduction, side effects, and when to add it to a statin Aug 25, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  20. 20+ YC startups have recently published machine learning research Aug 24, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  21. High p-tau217 led to a 38% chance of cognitive decline Aug 22, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  22. The science behind Pixel Watch's new insulin resistance feature Aug 13, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  23. Stacking oranges in 24 dimensions Aug 2, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  24. Macrocyclic peptides: a new third drug class? Jul 26, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  25. 57% of US adults recommended a statin under new guidelines Jul 24, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  26. PCSK9 inhibitors vs statins Jul 23, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  27. How much does Lipfendra cost? Jul 23, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  28. FDA committee votes 8-6 to make BPC-157 legal. What the FDA briefing report said about the evidence. Jul 21, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  29. Why non-invasive glucose monitoring is hard Jul 20, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  30. Coffee brewing method determines its effect on cholesterol Jul 20, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  31. Lipfendra vs Repatha Jul 19, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  32. Lipfendra (Enlicitide), the first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, cuts LDL cholesterol by 60% and Lp(a) by 28% Jul 16, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  33. Should you take red yeast rice to lower cholesterol? Not so fast Jul 13, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  34. Medicare GLP-1 Bridge prior authorization form pdf filler Jul 1, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  35. How to enroll in the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Jul 1, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  36. Medicare now covers GLP-1s for weight loss. Roughly 4 million qualify. Jul 1, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  37. Wearable foundation models Jun 30, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  38. LLM-style scaling laws hold for sensor data Jun 30, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  39. How to refer Medicare patients to the ACCESS cardiovascular model Jun 29, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  40. High Lp(a) is not a death sentence Jun 29, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  41. PCSK9 inhibitors lower LDL cholesterol by about 60% Jun 28, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  42. Medicare coverage for cardiovascular health: the complete guide Jun 28, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  43. Vitamin D regulates >5% of the human genome Jun 26, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  44. Younger generations are aging faster biologically, raising early cancer risks Jun 22, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  45. The p-tau 217 blood test for Alzheimer's Jun 19, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  46. Blood tests that predict heart attack risk Jun 18, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  47. Do modern LDL formulas replace ApoB? Jun 17, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  48. Statins lower inflammation by 37% Jun 15, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  49. How to lower inflammation through diet and medication Jun 15, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  50. CAC score was zero, but plaque doubled. Jun 13, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  51. Insurance coverage of PCSK9 inhibitors Jun 10, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  52. Nutrition is multidimensional Jun 7, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  53. The biomarkers to watch when you're on a GLP-1 Jun 5, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  54. To lower blood pressure, focus on sodium and potassium May 31, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  55. Eggs are now officially healthy May 31, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  56. Dietary cholesterol has a weak effect on blood cholesterol May 31, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  57. Blood cholesterol is driven by saturated fat and fiber May 30, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  58. Medicare covers GLP-1s for $50/month starting July 2026 May 26, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  59. How to track saturated fat and fiber with an app May 25, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  60. Retatrutide's phase 3 results: 30% weight loss in 2 years May 23, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  61. Objective metrics that change the most as we age May 23, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  62. Vitamin D2 vs D3: why the form on the bottle matters May 19, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  63. 99% of heart attacks are preceeded by these risk factors May 19, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  64. Vitamin D acts more like a hormone than a vitamin May 18, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  65. How to improve your VO2Max: an evidence-based guide May 12, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  66. How to Get Function Health at a lower cost May 10, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  67. Sleep polysomnography predicts 130 health conditions, including cardiovascular disease May 6, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  68. Every statin ranked by effect size May 4, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  69. The effect of sleep on blood biomarkers May 4, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  70. The Fick equation and your heart Apr 29, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  71. A Cal AI alternative for iPhone and Android Apr 16, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  72. Medications can now lower cholesterol (ApoB) by 80% Apr 7, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  73. Does Medicare cover Lp(a) testing? Apr 6, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  74. Four Lp(a)-lowering drugs in trials reduce levels by up to 94%. Apr 5, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  75. Blood pressure may swing 20+ mmHg in a single day Apr 3, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  76. How different wearables measure HRV: SDNN vs RMSSD Mar 28, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  77. Every formula to measure HRV Mar 24, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  78. Lp(a) testing is up 22x in the last decade. It's now recommended for everyone. Mar 22, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  79. How to find potassium-rich foods for blood pressure Mar 20, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  80. Partnering with Beacon Health to help Medicare patients with heart disease Mar 18, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  81. What cardiovascular medications does Medicare cover? Mar 17, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  82. Normal cholesterol levels (2026 guidelines) Mar 14, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  83. 2026 cholesterol guidelines recommend earlier treatment Mar 13, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  84. Autopilots vs. copilots in vertical AI Mar 9, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  85. Blood tests for heart health Mar 3, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  86. Three main saturated fats raise your cholesterol Feb 28, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  87. Why more young adults are dying of heart attacks Feb 27, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  88. The government wants AI doctors Feb 17, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  89. Empirical Health for Web: Now Available on Desktop Feb 17, 2026 • Wyatt Chang
  90. Bryan Johnson's Immortals program costs $1m. How to DIY 90% of the value for <1% of the price. Feb 12, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  91. Do rich people live longer? Feb 6, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  92. Men's heart risk rises by age 35, 7 years earlier than women Jan 31, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  93. Vitamin D cuts heart attack risk by 52%. Why? Jan 30, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger
  94. Direct-to-consumer advanced lipid panel with ApoB, Lp(a), and hs-CRP Jan 23, 2026 • Brandon Ballinger

2025 36

  1. AI beyond LLMs: A wearable foundation model based on JEPA. Dec 10, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  2. Instead of Giving Stuff, Give Years Nov 25, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  3. The best biomarkers for heart health Nov 7, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  4. How fiber reduces overall mortality by 23% Oct 28, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  5. Peter Attia on 60 Minutes: Medicine 3.0 and the marginal decade Oct 26, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  6. The four horsemen from Peter Attia's Outlive Oct 25, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  7. How to use AI to calculate nutrition facts Oct 24, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  8. Apple Watch hypertension alerts explained Oct 17, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  9. ApoB is not usually covered by Medicare or insurance, but can be cheap. Oct 16, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  10. The biomarkers recommended by Peter Attia in Outlive Oct 11, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  11. Inflammation now predicts heart disease better than LDL Sep 29, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  12. Simulating Reductions in Lifetime Heart Attack Risk Sep 17, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  13. Can Apple Watch measure blood pressure? How hypertension monitoring works. Sep 13, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  14. Why choose Empirical for 100+ biomarkers Aug 20, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  15. Why ApoB is more accurate than LDL cholesterol Jul 27, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  16. How to Get a Sleep Score on Your Apple Watch Jul 22, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  17. The effect of noise on sleep Jun 26, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  18. ApoB vs Lp(a) blood tests for heart health Jun 22, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  19. Data-driven nutrition: how to go beyond generic diet advice Jun 11, 2025 • Wyatt Chang and Brandon Ballinger
  20. How to lower your ApoB naturally and with medication May 28, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  21. How to Lower Your Cholesterol in 7 Days May 23, 2025 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  22. Function Health alternative in NY & NJ May 11, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  23. Function Health Alternatives May 10, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  24. Don't die of heart disease May 8, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  25. Lp(a): the strongest hereditary risk factor for heart disease May 1, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  26. Apple Watch's calorie counts can be accurate within 18-40%—if you follow these steps. Apr 19, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  27. Cutting ApoB by 10 mg/dL drops heart disease risk by 9% Apr 16, 2025 • Harish Kilaru
  28. Apple Watch can't predict a heart attack—these blood tests can Apr 12, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  29. How to calculate your heart attack risk with <$200 of blood tests Apr 3, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  30. Am I Healthy? How to design a comprehensive health score Mar 26, 2025 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  31. Apple Watch's heart rate monitor is accurate to 5bpm 89-98% of the time Mar 25, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  32. Apple Watch uses three different algorithms for heart rate Mar 25, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  33. Empirical Health Radar: One number, infinite insights. Mar 12, 2025 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP and Harish Kilaru
  34. Your guide to Apple Watch's heart rate monitor Mar 4, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger
  35. Empirical Health launches today on Android, WearOS, and Fitbit Feb 20, 2025 • Wyatt Chang and Brandon Ballinger
  36. Which health metrics are available on Samsung, Pixel, Apple Watch, and Fitbit? Feb 18, 2025 • Brandon Ballinger

2024 11

  1. How to Do a "Poor Man's Tilt Table Test" on Your Apple Watch Dec 11, 2024 • James Russo
  2. How Apple Watch's VO2Max algorithm works: physiological ODEs and deep neural networks. Nov 20, 2024 • Brandon Ballinger
  3. Breathing Disturbances on Apple Watch: What should I do if I get a “possible sleep apnea” alert from my Apple Watch? Oct 23, 2024 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  4. How Apple Watch estimates VO2Max to 1.2 ml/kg/min without a treadmill test Oct 22, 2024 • Brandon Ballinger
  5. The average Apple Watch user gets 49 minutes of deep sleep per night Oct 8, 2024 • Brandon Ballinger
  6. How to track your mental health with PHQ-9 and GAD-7 Sep 24, 2024 • James Russo and Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  7. How Apple Watch detects 89% of severe sleep apnea Sep 9, 2024 • Brandon Ballinger
  8. Summarize all your Apple Watch vitals into a health report Sep 6, 2024 • Wyatt Chang
  9. Empirical 2.0: your AI healthcare assistant Jul 2, 2024 • Brandon Ballinger and Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  10. Cardiovascular metrics predict sleep apnea risk Jun 7, 2024 • Brandon Ballinger
  11. How to correlate your Apple Watch health metrics with symptoms May 23, 2024 • Brandon Ballinger

2023 18

  1. How to do the CHOP protocol for POTS on your Apple Watch Dec 21, 2023 • Brandon Ballinger
  2. Empirical Health is launching to 47 million midwesterners Dec 12, 2023 • Brandon Ballinger
  3. Can my Apple Watch tell me if I have afib? Dec 5, 2023 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  4. The CHOP protocol and the science behind it Oct 26, 2023 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  5. The connection between long COVID and POTS Oct 19, 2023 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  6. The best Apple Watch for heart monitoring (2026) Oct 19, 2023 • Brandon Ballinger
  7. What are some of the most common POTS triggers? Oct 5, 2023 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  8. Do I need a tilt table test to confirm a POTS diagnosis? Sep 27, 2023 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  9. Is the Apple Watch's oxygen sensor accurate? Sep 13, 2023 • Brandon Ballinger
  10. Sleep apnea and the link to cardiovascular health: what you need to know Aug 30, 2023 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  11. How far is 10,000 steps? Aug 23, 2023 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  12. My Apple Watch says I have low blood oxygen while sleeping. Aug 15, 2023 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  13. What are the steps to get a POTS diagnosis? Aug 8, 2023 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  14. Why is it so hard to find a primary care doctor near me? Aug 2, 2023 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  15. Empirical Health: proactive primary care that scales Jul 18, 2023 • Brandon Ballinger
  16. What is HRV and what does it have to do with health? Jun 14, 2023 • Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP
  17. How to show sleep stages on your Apple Watch face Feb 24, 2023 • Brandon Ballinger
  18. Want better sleep quality? The top 3 factors, according to Apple Watch data Jan 9, 2023 • Brandon Ballinger

2022 4

  1. Is my data normal? Introducing Empirical Checkups Nov 28, 2022 • Brandon Ballinger
  2. Empirical Sleep for watchOS 9 Sep 16, 2022 • Brandon Ballinger
  3. Apple Watch's new temperature sensor Sep 14, 2022 • Brandon Ballinger
  4. Empirical Sleep for Apple Watch Jul 15, 2022 • Brandon Ballinger