Texas man's Apple Watch detects Afib, likely saving his life

The Apple Watch has yet again proven itself a worthwhile investment, prompting one Austin man to seek help when he wouldn't have otherwise.

Like many people, Mike Gomez had purchased an Apple Watch for its more obvious health features, such as tracking his workouts and calories burnt. What it wound up doing, instead, was saving his life.

In January, Gomez's Apple Watch warned him that his heart rate was high. Shortly after, he received five other notifications warning him that he was in atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation, or Afib, is an irregular heartbeat where the upper chambers of the heart begin beating erratically. The condition is often responsible for leading to blood clots in the heart, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure.

The condition may feel like a fluttering in the chest, or heart palpitations, but often goes entirely undetected. According to the American Heart Association, more than five million Americans have Afib.

Gomez, who had no other symptoms, decided to take the notification seriously. When doctors examined him, they found that he was in serious atrial fibrillation.

"Do everything you can to, you know, make sure you're, you know, at your best," Gomez told Fox 7 Austin. "And so whether it's buying a smartwatch or, and, you know, going out for a walk, you know, do what you can because, you know, we're not promised tomorrow."

February is Heart Health Month, and Gomez' story is a reminder that there are ways to be proactive in your health.

An Apple Watch, for instance, is a multifaceted health tool that is relatively inexpensive. Apple sells the Apple Watch SE, its baseline model, for $249 — though you can routinely find it cheaper.

You should also get plenty of sleep, exercise regularly, and eat a balanced diet to maintain a healthy weight.

The Apple Watch is packed with other life-saving features, too.

Crash detection, for instance, has recently been credited with saving a man's life after his car crashed, leaving him submerged upside down in a pool.

Even Apple CEO Tim Cook has experienced the benefits of the Apple Watch in his life. Recently, he told a story of how the Apple Watch saved his father's life once, too.

Even Siri has been credited with saving lives. Recently, a Florida stroke victim that used the "Hey Siri" feature to call for help after a stroke left him crawling on the floor for two days.