Last year we reported that it wasn’t long after Apple enabled the ECG feature in the Apple Watch that it managed to save its first life. We have since heard multiple stories of the Apple Watch saving lives, and it looks like we can now add another to the list, where the Apple Watch alerted the user to the return of his atrial fibrillation.In a report from KIRO (via 9to5Mac), cardiologist Dr. Phil Massey of Pacific Medical Centers recounted a story of how a patient had come to the hospital after his Apple Watch had alerted him that he was experiencing irregular heart rhythm. The patient had previously been treated for atrial fibrillation, but since it can be intermittent and the patient had been off his blood thinner medication, it seems that his A-fib had returned.
According to Dr Massey, “He had been off of blood thinner and he didn’t know it had come back. And when you have AF it can be intermittent so he could come into the office and be in normal rhythm. But then he could show me the tracking on his watch and show me that it had come back. And then we got him on a blood thinner to prevent a stroke, so that is a big deal.”
Dr Massey has since expressed his excitement in the device and how it is capable of detecting heart problems outside of the doctor’s office, which has the potential to save lives as it allows users to seek treatment before it is too late.
Filed in . Read more about Apple Watch, Health, Smartwatch and Wearable Tech.