An Apple Watch saved someone from a heart attack

[captain_to_fire]

Source: 9to5 Mac

 

 

Quote

 

Scott Killian never imagined his Apple Watch might save his life, but that’s exactly what happened a few weeks ago when he had a heart attack in the middle of the night. Killian recently shared his personal experience with 9to5Mac, and the details of his story are absolutely amazing.

 

A few months shy of turning 50, Killian says he recently underwent a nuclear stress test and metabolic workout to rule out any health concerns associated with his age. After thousands of dollars of tests, he was cleared without issue.

 

Killian is an attorney so his job comes with a high level of stress, but he also works in law enforcement and regularly boxes and runs to maintain proper physical health.

 

He had no reason to expect a heart attack and actually took steps to proactively be aware of any pending medical issues.

Then Killian, who wears his Apple Watch to bed three to four nights a week for sleep tracking, says his Apple Watch woke him up around 1 am with an alert from a third-party app called HeartWatch saying his resting heart rate was elevated while sleeping (Apple recently introduced a built-in feature that can do this with Apple Watch Series 1 and later). Killian experienced mild indigestion which can be a sign of a heart attack, but says he generally didn’t feel sick.

His Apple Watch charted his heart rate at around 121 beats per minute in the middle of the night while data previously captured showed his average resting heart rate at around 49 beats per minute. The data also showed that this was the first time his resting heart rate had reached this level since he began wearing Apple Watch, so he decided to go to the emergency room as a precaution.

 

Killian says he told his wife while they were waiting in the ER that he felt like they were wasting time and money, then the hospital connected him to an EKG machine.

 

While the results reported back as normal, he says he noticed his heart rate was still elevated. His Apple Watch was “dead accurate” with the beats per minute reported by the hospital’s machinery.

I don't think this is the first time that something like this happened. Just look at the video below where a man trapped in his hotel in Haiti used a first aid app on his iPhone to prevent himself slipping to shock.

 

 

One should remember that Apple has been working with Stanford University to fine tune their Health Kit API and heart rate detection of the Apple Watch using Heart Study which is voluntary. I can see a future where doctors will be prescribing smartwatches with a scenario something like this :

 

Patient: Hey doc, I have trouble breathing and I get tired easily. I think I have hypertension.

Doctor: What made you think that you have hypertension?

Patient: Both my parents have it and my previous doctor told me that my X-ray shows cardiomegaly

Doctor: Well as a cardiologist I find many of radiologist's findings inconclusive including this one as I look in your chest X-ray. That's why I'm requesting a 2D Echo with Doppler study just to be sure. Can I look into your labs?

Patient: Yes doctor here it is. 

Doctor: Well sir, it's good that your fasting blood sugar levels are at the normal range and I recommend you keeping it that way but your LDL, triglycerides are over the top. I'd be prescribing you Lipitor for your cholesterol, Fenofibrate for your triglycerides, Norvasc to manage blood pressure and lastly an Apple Watch.

Patient: Excuse me? Did you just say you're prescribing an Apple Watch?

Doctor: Yes. Stop using that Android Wear smartwatch and start using the Apple Watch and participate in the Heart Study app to monitor the fluctuations in your heart rate.

Patient: But my insurance doesn't cover a smartwatch. 

Doctor: There's nothing that I can do then. Take these medications as directed instead. 

Then later the patient went to the ATM and withdrew money to buy a new iPhone and a new Apple Watch Sport series 3 but he ran out of money for his maintenance medicines. 

 

Quote

Then the hospital took a blood test and discovered an elevated enzyme that signals a heart attack has occurred or is occurring. Further testing revealed four blocked arteries which required the insertion of four stents (inflated titanium carbon fiber sleeves) to correct.

It's good that the man is now okay and that the Apple Watch helped him save his life which as the time I'm reading the article, it made me think should my parents use an Apple Watch? Both of my parents have hypertension but both of them have it under control thanks to medications. There are so many medical IoT devices that can connect to the iPhone like smart weighing scales with built in bioelectrical impedance for fat percentage measurement, smart sphygmomanometer, and a smart glucose meter for Types 1 & 2 diabetics. I hope Apple and their Health Kit partners develop a smart spirometer for asthmatics including me although unlike hypertension which can be quiet, asthma attacks are more obvious like the hoarseness in breathing alone is a sign that your airways are filling with mucus and is constricting so better keep that inhaler handy. As always, when you feel something is wrong with you, go ask your doctor and if you happen to have a smartwatch that tells something is wrong, ask them to run tests to corroborate the result and in this scenario, the Apple Watch has been accurate in predicting a heart attack and it was averted. 

 

Now when will Android Wear follow?

Edited December 17, 2017 by hey_yo_
edited for nagging night theme users... ugh!

[NumLock21]

Good for him to take it seriously and go to the ER.

[seon123]

Please fix the quotes for dark theme users. 

Edited December 17, 2017 by seon123
Plural

[Princess Luna]

Night theme RIP

[BuckGup]

It is crazy how accurate they are considering they are just on your the top of your wrist. Not even underneath and they work through water and arm hair

[captain_to_fire]

4 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

Night theme RIP

 

7 minutes ago, seon123 said:

Please fix the quotes for dark theme users. 

Done

[Drak3]

5 minutes ago, hey_yo_ said:

 

Done

You should have known better.

[seon123]

6 minutes ago, hey_yo_ said:

 

Done

The second quote too. 

 

Now that I can read what happened: I don't hope my LG SmartWatch gets that feature, because it'd be a waste of time. It shows ~90BPM when it's actually 140, so the sensor isn't what I would call "accurate" 

[DarkEnergy]

Just now, Drak3 said:

You should have known better.

Bravo. RIP light theme users.

[NumLock21]

ctrl+A

Got to color box one with the letter A and click automatic

[ARikozuM]

Surprised nobody has pulled out the "an Apple a day keeps the doctors nearby" joke...

 

I do like using mine for when I'm playing tennis or doing other exercises, but this is great! No health insurance anymore, just Dr. Siri!

[captain_to_fire]

10 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

You should have known better.

Night Theme Supremacist ?

 

Day Theme Users Matter ??

[Drak3]

Just now, ARikozuM said:

Surprised nobody has pulled out the "an Apple a day keeps the doctors nearby" joke...

 

I do like using mine for when I'm playing tennis or doing other exercises, but this is great! No health insurance anymore, just Dr. Siri!

Can't wait to see how Apple breaks it in the next watchOS update.

Just now, hey_yo_ said:

Day Theme Users Matter

Nah.

[captain_to_fire]

1 minute ago, ARikozuM said:

Surprised nobody has pulled out the "an Apple a day keeps the doctors nearby" joke...

 

I do like using mine for when I'm playing tennis or doing other exercises, but this is great! No health insurance anymore, just Dr. Siri!

But will insurance pay for Apple Watch or an iPhone? Besides, only doctors are licensed to prescribe medications but I can see this as a potential reduction in the number of tests ordered. 

[ARikozuM]

1 minute ago, hey_yo_ said:

Night Theme Supremacist ?

 

Day Theme Users Matter ??

Sucks to be you...

[Drak3]

THE SECOND QUOTE STILL NEEDS FIXED FOR THE USERS OF THE SUPERIOR THEME.

[ARikozuM]

34 minutes ago, hey_yo_ said:

But will insurance pay for Apple Watch or an iPhone? Besides, only doctors are licensed to prescribe medications but I can see this as a potential reduction in the number of tests ordered. 

It would be really useful data for iOS users that have to stay in the hospital as their existing wearables can be used for monitoring versus costly machinery once baselines and offsets are coordinated. Might be an interesting sector for Apple to venture into. 

[captain_to_fire]

4 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

It would be really useful data for iOS users that have to stay in the hospital as their existing wearables can be used for monitoring versus costly machinery once baselines and offsets are coordinated. Might be an interesting sector for Apple to venture into. 

Just you wait until Apple builds a circular hospital named “Steve Jobs Memorial Medical Center” in 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino CA 

[captain_to_fire]

4 minutes ago, CUDA_Cores said:

Sorry, just a rant on our incredible broken health-care system in the US. 

As much as I agree with you, I’m begging you to not get this thread locked. 

[ARikozuM]

5 minutes ago, CUDA_Cores said:

snip

I think the issue is the over-saturation of medical professionals, high cost of education (and it isn't hard to become an MD; cost of university is practically the only barrier), health insurance payouts being abysmal for client and providers, and the fact that malpractice insurance costs tens of thousands depending on field. 

[captain_to_fire]

1 hour ago, seon123 said:

The second quote too. 

 

Now that I can read what happened: I don't hope my LG SmartWatch gets that feature, because it'd be a waste of time. It shows ~90BPM when it's actually 140, so the sensor isn't what I would call "accurate" 

It would be up for LG to fix their heart rate sensor and the software that does the calculations. Still, this is one of the scenarios where technology is being used for good.

[Yoinkerman]

51 minutes ago, CUDA_Cores said:

People would be more willing to go to the ER if they knew they wouldn't be slapped with thousands of dollars of medical debt they can't pay. To me, preventative care such as checkups and hospital visits should be very cheap or even free, because preventative care is MUCH cheaper than dealing with a medical problem once it has fully developed. Cancer, obesity, this heart attack thing all being very good examples. If more people went to the doctor, then the taxpayer would not have to be shouldered with increased taxes from a low-income individual who got cancer and can no longer pay their medical bills. All because the individual didn't come in earlier, when the cancer would've been significantly cheaper and easier to diagnose and cure.

 

Prices of medical visits should also be very clearly and explicitly spelled out for every single doctor visit to give an individual a chance to shop around. Under the current US health care system, prices are not determined until after the medical problem has been taken care of. That would be like if I went into a grocery store with no price tags, and bought a bunch of food for an arbitrary price I will not know until the food is consumed. Only after the food is consumed will the grocery store send me the bill for the food, meaning I have no way to compare prices with other grocery stores and I cannot return the food since it has now been consumed. It just doesn't make any sense. 

 

It also absolutely kills me when People in Canada, Britain, Belgium and other single-payer health care societies whine about "why are new graphics cards so expensive here when they're so cheap in america". We'll bitch it's because you live in a country where the government prioritizes essentials like health care, which is required to live, and de-prioritizes wants like That shiny new graphics card that is not required to live. Would you rather have a bunch of cheap garbage like we have here in america that ultimately adds absolutely no monetary value to your life, or do you want to have reasonable health-care costs, which is something you actually need to live. That shiny new graphics card is slapped with a VAT tax to pay for your health care system. Trust me people, you can live without your PUBG. You will not have to live in fear that a heart attack will cause you to declare bankrupcy and have to rely on social security the rest of your life since you are likely now old and all your savings have been depleted. 

 

There are few things I think the government should regulate, but health care just makes sense. A free market economy cannot be applied to health care since if an individual has a gunshot wound, they don't have time to shop around and compare prices, otherwise they will die. The individual can and will find any way possible to pay for the health care no matter what the price, because their life is on the line. This is why a single-payer system run by the government where private institutions must compete for health care goods and services that the government then provides just makes sense. There is still competition to provide incentive's for development of new drugs, while using the governments massive negotiating power to keep prices low.

 

I would love to be corrected on this, just like how I am indifferent on the net-neutrality debate. Your internet access is something that is not required to live, meaning you actually have time to shop around. so I would much rather see comcast, Time Warner, AT&T and verizon broken up into smaller companies in order to force them to compete in areas where there is only one ISP. Said smaller companies will simply operate on the same fiber lines used to deliver internet access, and must compete for bandwidth and consumer loyalty. Ultimately the consumer will be the one who wins out by driving prices down over time. With health care, you have no choice. You HAVE to cure that cancer. You HAVE to fix that broken leg, and you HAVE to be rushed to the closest ER for that heart attack. You can't just say "oh I want to go to this hospital instead" when your kid is choking to death on a chicken bone and may die in minutes, you simply have no choice. 

 

Sorry, just a rant on our incredible broken health-care system in the US. 

I'll partially correct you.  Taxes remit to local and federal governments have no bearing on why consumer goods, especially electronics, are expensive in Canada.  

 

If something is a rip off in Canada compared to the same item in the USA, it's not because of taxes.  Many states have higher sales taxes than Canada.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, seon123 said:

The second quote too. 

 

Now that I can read what happened: I don't hope my LG SmartWatch gets that feature, because it'd be a waste of time. It shows ~90BPM when it's actually 140, so the sensor isn't what I would call "accurate" 

your resting HR really shouldn't be 140.

[Deli]

43 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

your resting HR really shouldn't be 140.

Maybe at very high altitude, like on top of the Everest.

[Deli]

Reviews I read most of the smart watches and activity trackers are not accurate at all for monitoring heart rate, like 10-15% difference to actual rate. Is Apple watch really so much better?