Charles Martin
Veteran tech executive Peter Moore credits his Apple Watch with an alert that ended up saving his life, resulting in the implantation of a pacemaker to regulate his heartbeat.
As a career-long tech and sports CEO and advisor, Peter Moore is a long-time major player in Silicon Valley — including stints as head of Sega, Microsoft's Xbox division, Electronic Arts' sports division, and CEO of his hometown of Liverpool's soccer team. He currently serves as SVP and GM of Unity Technologies' Sports and Live Entertainment division.
Recently, Moore was headed to the airport to pick up his daughter when he felt "a little lightheaded and a little faint," he told KTLA reporter Rich DeMuro. "Like a typical male, I thought, I'll go to Starbucks. That'll fix it.'"
His Apple Watch began to ping with "low heart rate" warnings. Moore did an ECG using the Watch, which informed him that his heart rate had dropped to 32 beats per minute. A more typical reading when not active would be between 50 and 60 bpm.
He pulled over and called his wife, who told him to stay put. She came and got him and took him to a nearby hospital.
Once there, according to Moore, "the doctor kind of theatrically ran in and said, This is not good. This is not good. You need a pacemaker right now.'" Moore underwent surgery immediately to implant a pacemaker, and now reports that he "feels great."
Pay heed to warnings from health wearables
Omid Yousefian, the cardiac electrophysiologist at Sansum Clinic Cardiology who treated Moore, said his Apple Watch played "a big role in saving his life." While the Apple Watch cannot detect a heart attack, it can alert users to unusual changes in their heart rate and rhythm, referred to as atrial fibrillation.
Moore "was notified by his watch that his heart rate is slow and he correlated that with the symptoms that he had," said Yousefian. "He didn't wait. He didn't sit. He came to the hospital directly. So he made a very smart move."
The Apple Watch has been credited innumerable times by users who said that the warnings it provided often made them aware of hidden health issues they didn't know they had. Basketball legend Sean Elliott recently credited the device with forcing him to go see a cardiologist, who was able to correct a heart rhythm issue with Elliott that could have lead to more serious damage over time.
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for this little device," Moore said. He praised the Apple Watch and other wearables for the value they can provide, particularly in "literally informing you about your health in real-time. And in my instance, I think, saving my life."
Amber Neely
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7 Comments
Great guy. Glad Apple Watch had his back.
Oddly enough I’ve been getting low heart rate alerts as well. I went to my doctor and we spent all of last summer with tests, cardiologists, EKGs, wearing a monitor on my belt, stress tests and such. At the end of it he said, “Your heart is working just fine. There is no arrhythmia. It responds very well to stress and exercise. Your blood pressure looks good. It just seems like you have a low resting rate.” He went on to explain that because I wasn’t experiencing any other symptoms, lightheadedness etc., there was no need for a pacemaker or anything like that. Some people just seem to have a low relaxed heart rate.
One thing not mentioned but important: the Apple Watch works best when the band is securely tight (not uncomfortably tight, but also not loose and prone to moving on your wrist). Otherwise you may get false warnings about your heartrate because it can't get a good reading.
I have had the Apple Watch and iPhone contribute to saving my life twice now. First was when I thought I was having a bad case of IBS. I suffer from Inflammatory Bowel Disease and it often feels like having bad gas, burping and pains in the upper chest. I was thinking that I might call the doctor and schedule a visit, but my Apple Watch warned me first of an abnormally high heart rate, spiking at over 160 and a few minutes later dropped to 40. Instead of calling the doctor myself my wife called 911. Over the course of the next hour or so the paramedics arrived, took me to a hospital where a heart specialist was called in, and within minutes of arriving was taken into surgery and had 5 stents put in the part of my heart that was 2mm from the spot they call The Widow Maker.
Recently, on a dark country road, with no lights or cell phone reception, I struck a moose. Apparently it didn't signal a right turn while exiting the woods. I was able to save myself, but not the car. The moose ran off into the woods. Without Apple's SOS via satellite I could have been waiting hours in the dark for help to arrive. But Apple's Crash detection sent an Emergency SOS signal at the moment of the crash. I was already on line with help by the time I got my wits together to even try to get a message out. Help arrived in under an hour and an ambulance was dispatched to take me to the hospital for care. The person at the SOS relay staton stayed with me the entire time.
Thanks to Apple and Tim Cook, I have cheated death twice now. I hope there's not a third time!
One thing my heart rate has NEVER been is low. lol. My apple watchin always shows how crazy fast it is and the arrhythmias and afib when it hits :#. All the joys that came with covid world