NEW YORK, March 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sword Health, the world's leading AI care company, today announced the launch of Pulse, the AI cardiometabolic care solution designed to tackle one of the most devastating and costly health crises of our time. More than 184 million Americans are projected to have some form of cardiovascular disease by 2050 — over 60% of all adults — with annual costs already exceeding $400 billion (American Heart Association, 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics). Pulse is built to promote healthy lifestyle choices that can help reduce cardiometabolic risk.
Pulse combines Sword's proven AI care platform with connected health devices, evidence-based lifestyle interventions, and outcomes-based pricing to deliver continuous, personalized cardiometabolic support at scale. The solution will support hypertension — which affects nearly 120 million American adults, with only about one in five having their blood pressure adequately controlled (CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Data Brief 511, October 2024) — pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, weight loss, high cholesterol and GLP-1 support.
"Cardiometabolic disease is the biggest human problem in healthcare that no one has figured out how to address at scale," said Virgílio Bento, Founder & CEO of Sword Health. "The current system tells 120 million people with hypertension to 'eat better and exercise more,' then schedules them the next year to check if anything changed. Nothing happens in between. We built Pulse to be there every single day, proactive, personalized, and relentless, because that's what it actually takes to help people get healthier."
A new model: AI that doesn't just track. It acts proactively
Today, care for cardiometabolic conditions is episodic, reactive, and escalating in cost. Nearly 100 million Americans lack a primary care physician entirely. Those who want one, will wait an average of 24 days for an appointment. Meanwhile, only 2.9% of total U.S. health spending goes toward prevention. Sword is determined to break these access barriers.
Pulse introduces a different approach with a revolutionary three-way chat bringing together the member, a matched health specialist, and Phoenix, Sword's AI care specialist. Phoenix can engage and support members around the clock with natural conversation, delivering personalized lifestyle programs incorporating movement, nutrition, sleep, and behavioral health guidance. Phoenix uses insights from connected devices — including blood pressure monitors, smart scales, and wearables — to personalize lifestyle support, tailor engagement to each member's daily routines.
The member’s matched health specialist remains in the loop for every interaction, advising on more complex questions, sensitive conversations, and the moments where human guidance matters most. The type of specialist adapts to each member's needs. Doctors of Physical Therapy provide lifestyle support and other appropriate specialists help members with more complex health profiles.
Members can access their personalized plan from anywhere, at any time to suit their needs. The experience is simple for users, with connected devices, including blood pressure monitors, smart scales, and wearables automatically feeding health data directly to Phoenix. It’s this connection that helps Phoenix personalize support, spot trends early, involve appropriate specialists, and help members stay on track before small lapses become bigger problems.
Outcomes-based pricing: payments are tied to specific health improvements
Most digital health solutions charge per-member-per-month fees regardless of results or have a utilization-based model where clients like employers or health plans pay for usage without any link to the value being delivered. Existing solutions have complex pricing based on condition or risk levels. Pulse introduces a fundamentally different approach with simple lump-sum pricing with 50% of payment is tied to program activation and the other 50% earned only when members significantly improve their health.
Sword is making a clear bet: when financial incentives are tied to meaningful health outcomes, everyone benefits from the value created, including employers, health plans, members , and the healthcare system at large.
"We don't ask our clients to trust that Pulse works. We show them the data and tie our payment to it," said Bento. "That level of accountability is what this market needs."
Pulse is the GLP-1 companion the market is missing
With GLP-1 medications reshaping weight management and metabolic health, Pulse launches as the first AI lifestyle support program purpose-built for GLP-1 users. While these medications drive significant weight loss, research shows that 15 to 40% of that loss can be lean muscle mass. For older adults, GLP-1 use has been associated with a higher risk of osteoporosis and fragility fractures.
Pulse supports muscle and bone health through personalized strength training programs, protein-focused nutrition guidance, and continuous body composition monitoring helping members preserve muscle, build sustainable habits, and maximize the long-term value of their medications.
Built and proven on a global scale
Pulse builds on Sword Health's track record as the fastest-growing AI care platform in the world. Since 2020, more than 700,000 members have completed over 10 million AI-powered sessions, helping Sword's 1,000+ enterprise clients avoid more than $1 billion in unnecessary healthcare costs. Backed by 57 clinical studies and over 50 patents, Sword has demonstrated that AI care can deliver superior outcomes to traditional care models at scale across physical health, women's health, and mental health.
With Pulse, Sword enters the cardiometabolic space — the largest addressable health category in the United States — extending the same approach that has made it the global leader in digital musculoskeletal care.
Pulse will be available to self-insured employers and health plans as a wellness benefit later in 2026. For more information, visit swordhealth.com/pulse.
About Sword Health
Sword is a frontier research lab and applied AI platform dedicated to solving healthcare through AI. We operate across two verticals: Sword Health, which uses AI to treat and heal, and Sword Intelligence, which uses AI to scale and automate healthcare operations.
We serve 20% of the Fortune 500, major health plans, national health systems, the US Military, and sovereign governments.
Since our 2020 market launch, we have served 800,000+ members who completed 11M AI care sessions, helped 1,000+ clients avoid $1B+ in unnecessary healthcare costs, and delivered clinical outcomes that the traditional Healthcare world can't match at any scale - all by making high-quality healthcare accessible through AI.
Sword’s leading work in Healthcare is backed by 58 clinical studies and 50 patents, and we have raised $500M+ from General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Transformation Capital, and Founders Fund (among others).
Contact name: Mariana Ascenção || mariana@swordhealth.com
