UNITED KINGDOM: A 36-year-old man from Flitwick, Bedfordshire, UK, is crediting his Apple Watch for detecting an undiagnosed heart condition that he may have never known he had.
Adam Croft woke up in the middle of the night feeling dizzy, and upon getting up, he felt the world closing in on him.
He then checked his Apple Watch, which showed that his heart was in Atrial fibrillation (AFib), meaning his heartbeat was not regular.
Croft said that he had previously experienced “little flutterings” of the heart, but the watch had missed them. He had not experienced any pain or serious symptoms that he thought were related to his heart.
However, when he saw multiple alerts from his Apple Watch the next morning, he called the UK medical helpline 111, which advised him to go to the hospital immediately.
Further testing at Bedford Hospital confirmed that Croft was indeed in AFib. AFib is an irregular, often very fast heartbeat rhythm that can result in the formation of blood clots, which can interrupt blood flow and cause palpitations, chest pain, breathlessness, and increase the risk of stroke.
Croft has now been put on blood thinners by doctors and will undergo a cardioversion procedure, which uses low-energy shocks to restore a regular heart rhythm.
He claims that if his Apple Watch had not sent him alerts, he might not have visited the hospital.
“It’s not a feature I’d ever expected to use,” Croft told the media in an interview. He also added that the watch will now stay on him.
The Apple Watch has been credited with saving numerous lives before, detecting undiagnosed heart conditions and prompting users to seek medical attention.
The device’s ability to track heart rate has also helped find irregular heart rhythms, which could save lives.
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