‘An apple a day keeps a doctor away’, they say. And well, it’s not wrong. However, this is the story of an Apple Watch and how it brought a doctor to a patient in the nick of time!
According to News18, a man had his life saved by a doctor thanks to a unique feature in the Apple Watch, called the irregular rhythm notification feature that supposedly detects irregular heartbeats.
The incident is supposed to have happened in an American restaurant, where apparently a doctor used his Apple Watch Series 4 to detect AFib (Atrial Fi) and save a man’s life.
This is probably a first in medical history.
What is atrial fibrillation, or AFib?
In layman terms, this is an irregular, or rapid heart rate that is said to increase one’s risk of having a stroke, heart failure, or other – often fatal – heart-related issues.
According to the Apple Watch feature, an automatic warning would be sent to the user if and when the watch would be able to detect such an irregular heart rate.
Like this:
Tommy Korn, the doctor who saved the man’s life, even went ahead and tweeted about the entire experience.
While it’s a good thing that Korn had presence of mind and acted fast on the incident, we’ve got to give it to the smartwatch for being one step ahead and sending out the warning when it did.
Technology does, after all, have its own advantages – and in this case was even a boon – however, while investing in a reliable smartwatch may not be such a bad idea; visiting a doctor regularly wouldn’t kill you either.