In another episode of the Apple Watch saving lives, a 36-year-old man from Flitwick in Bedfordshire, UK, is crediting the device for detecting an undiagnosed heart condition. According to a BBC report, writer Adam Croft woke up in the middle of the night to search for his Apple See indicating that his heart was in atrial fibrillation. Simply put, the smartwatch detected that his heartbeat was not regular.
“This is not a feature I ever expected to use,” he told the publication. Croft said that one evening he got up from the couch after feeling dizzy. He then went to the kitchen to get a glass of water when he “immediately felt the world closing in.”
“I managed to land on the floor and ended up in a pool of cold sweat,” he said.
The next morning, he saw several alerts from his Apple Watch. He then called the UK medical helpline 111, which advised him to go to hospital. “I called 111 (the UK medical helpline) who said get to the hospital within the hour,” he told the BBC in the interview.
Upon further testing at Bedford Hospital, it was confirmed that Croft was in atrial fibrillation (AFib). For those unaware, AFib is an irregular, often very fast heartbeat rhythm that can result in blood clots. This can disrupt blood flow, causing palpitations, chest pain and shortness of breath, which increases the risk of stroke.
Croft says he might never have gone to the hospital if he hadn’t received the alert from the hospital apple watch, He has experienced ‘little flutters’ of the heart before, but the watch remembered them. However, these have not happened in months, he said. “I’ve never had any pain or symptoms that I thought were serious,” he said.
Croft has now been put on blood thinners by the doctors. He said he would undergo a cardioversion procedure, which involves the use of “quick, low-energy shocks to restore a regular heart rhythm”. He said, “The clock will still be running.”
catch all technology news And updates on Live Mint. download mint news app to receive daily market update & Live business News,