Stephen Silver
In another case of the Apple Watch detecting a medical condition, an Australian man says the Watch alerted him to his elevated heart rate, leading to fast enough intervention to save his life.
According to 9 News in Australia, 24-year-old college student Adam Love received notifications on his Apple Watch that his sleeping heart rate had reached between 130 and 140 beats per minute. Alarmed, Love visited a doctor.
The visit culminated in Love being diagnosed with a hole in his heart, a serious condition that he had had since birth and had been missed to that point. During the examination that was prompted by the Apple Watch data, the doctors also discovered that the man's circulatory system was delivering aerated blood to the wrong location.
The Apple Watch wasn't the only new technology that helped save Love's life. His subsequent heart surgery was performed via a keyhole incision, which was patched up by a daVinci 3D robot, allowing Love — who happens to study robotics — a much faster recovery.
Watches save lives
Love's is at least the fourth story to make the news rounds this year of the Apple Watch spotting a condition or otherwise playing a role in rescuing a user from a calamitous health emergency.
A woman and child were saved from a car accident after the activation of the Emergency SOS feature. The heart rate monitor helped lead to the diagnosis of a Florida teenager's kidney disease, while the same thing happened with a man's ruptured ulcer that same month. And a Hong Kong man's heart condition was spotted by the Apple Watch this past spring.
In some of those cases, including Love's, the life-saving properties have caused the users to declare themselves Apple Watch fans for life. Apple has not used any of these stories in advertising, although CEO Tim Cook has made personal phone calls to at least some of the users.
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
Amber Neely
21 Comments
I wonder how many people have had their life saved, or helped because of the watch. My story never got in the media, except for my mentioning it here, and on Ars. Others mentioned theirs in response to mine.
Last time I got that notification, I’d just smoked some bomb-ass ghetto chronic. Always good to know you’re getting your money’s worth.
Eventually the Watch will save the life of the next Hitler, igniting global conflagration and tanking Apple's stock price.
I remember some iKnockoff fan saying "but google is extending lives!" based off some vaporware abandoned projects.
Apple is actually doing it.
I'd like to share a tip to my older friends. i'm 55 and wear my watch throughout the night and charge in the afternoon. Before the alarms, I was able to notice irregular heart rates (via health app) while sleeping and I tracked this info over a period of two months before going to the doctor's. The doc ran tests and X-rays to learn that I had a hiatal hernia which was sending acid reflux back and swelled my thyroid which impacted my heart rate. With a change to my diet (how much I eat at one time) and an acid pill once a week, my heart rate is back to normal.
Use at night for a better view of your resting heart rate.