Apple Watch: Another day, another life saved

Earlier this week we relayed a story about a mountain biker whose life was saved by his Apple Watch. Today we have another tale of how Apple’s wearable has saved life. UK resident David Last (54) credited the Watch with saving his life when his heart stopped 138 times in two days.

Wife gave him an Apple Watch

Last’s wife Sarah gave him the Apple Watch for his birthday in April. After he began wearing it, the electrocardiogram (ECG) feature alerted him constantly for a low resting heart rate. Constantly? How about 3,000 times?!

A normal healthy adult male’s heart beats about 60 to 100 times per minute. Last’s heart rate was as low as 30 beats per minute. He figured the electrocardiogram feature was malfunctioning, as he leads an active lifestyle. Like most loving spouses, Sarah persuaded David to visit the doctor. After the first visit, he was referred to a cardiologist.

Last had an MRI in May, and his cardiologist received the results in July. He was given a 48-hour ECG (most likely with a Holter Monitor). Last realized he might have an issue when he was contacted by “really panicky” hospital staff. “As soon as I got there, they had a bed ready,” said Last.

The hospital visit was timely, as doctors found he had a third-degree heart blockage. A junction in his heart was wearing away, which could have resulted in sudden cardiac death. Last’s heart had stopped 138 times in 10-second intervals over 48 hours. Many of the stoppages occurred while sleeping, and other sections of the heart compensated to start flow again.

After surgery in August, Last received a pacemaker to detect and stabilize his heartbeat. He said “If she hadn’t bought me my Apple watch for my birthday, I wouldn’t be here. I will always be eternally grateful to her for it. Apart from charging it, it’s always staying on me now.”

The ECG function is available on Apple Watch Series 4 and later.

Image via The Independent