The Apple Watch led to open-heart surgery for an athlete. I'm checking my ECG every day now
A triathlon athlete thought he was just tired. His Apple Watch knew better.
The Apple Watch is more than just a fun gimmick. | Image by PhoneArena
A triathlon athlete thought he was just tired. His Apple Watch knew better. After an open surgery that potentially saved his life, Apple made a commercial out of it. Classic!
A man named Connor was competing in a "quite difficult" triathlon when he noticed he was getting more and more tired. While getting tired during a sporting event is normal, in this case Connor's Apple Watch showed an elevated heart rate of 219 beats per minute.
Connor then decided to run a quick ECG on his Apple Watch, and the results suggested atrial fibrillation. The man went for more extensive medical checks at his cardiologist and ended up on the operation table.
The medical experts found that Connor had a congenital heart condition, potentially life-threatening. These heart problems are often birth defects of a structural type, preventing the normal blood flow through the heart and the rest of the body.
After the open-heart surgery, Connor felt like he had a new engine installed in his body. This is another success story tied to the Apple Watch's health and emergency features, and Apple spotted the opportunity.
Read more Apple Watch success stories here:
In typical Apple fashion, the company posted the story on its official YouTube channel and made an ad out of it. There are a bunch of similar videos posted on the channel, one called "Apple Watch Fall Detection: Phil’s True Apple Watch SOS Story," describing a fall accident after a mountain bike ride.
Another video called "Dear Apple: How Apple Watch Is Changing People’s Lives" shows a mashup of other success stories involving the Apple Watch.
I'll leave the morals of turning these stories into ads aside. In the end, all these people are alive and well thanks to modern technology, which is a little miracle.
Just a decade ago, taking your ECG with a watch sounded like science fiction. Pay attention to your heart rate, and if your smartwatch has ECG or other advanced health features, use them. But don't be like me. I'm a little hypochondriac, and such stories send me into a spiral of checking my vitals way too often.
Man ends up in surgery after Apple Watch alert
A man named Connor was competing in a "quite difficult" triathlon when he noticed he was getting more and more tired. While getting tired during a sporting event is normal, in this case Connor's Apple Watch showed an elevated heart rate of 219 beats per minute.
Connor then decided to run a quick ECG on his Apple Watch, and the results suggested atrial fibrillation. The man went for more extensive medical checks at his cardiologist and ended up on the operation table.
Has your Apple Watch ever detected a medical condition?
Apple Watch detected a congenital heart condition
The medical experts found that Connor had a congenital heart condition, potentially life-threatening. These heart problems are often birth defects of a structural type, preventing the normal blood flow through the heart and the rest of the body.
After the open-heart surgery, Connor felt like he had a new engine installed in his body. This is another success story tied to the Apple Watch's health and emergency features, and Apple spotted the opportunity.
Apple made an advertisement out of the case
In typical Apple fashion, the company posted the story on its official YouTube channel and made an ad out of it. There are a bunch of similar videos posted on the channel, one called "Apple Watch Fall Detection: Phil’s True Apple Watch SOS Story," describing a fall accident after a mountain bike ride.
Another video called "Dear Apple: How Apple Watch Is Changing People’s Lives" shows a mashup of other success stories involving the Apple Watch.
Pay attention to your heart rate
I'll leave the morals of turning these stories into ads aside. In the end, all these people are alive and well thanks to modern technology, which is a little miracle.
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