Apple Watch beats hospital ECG equipment, saves life of an 80-year-old woman

Apple Watch has once again saved a life and this time it did so by failing ECGs used in hospitals. According to a report from the European Heart Journal, Apple Watch was able to detect a serious health issue in an 80-year old woman with its inbuilt ECG (electrocardiogram) feature, even after she was announced fit. She reportedly complained about light-headedness and chest pain with an irregular pulse.

While the results by Chest Pain Unit of the hospital came normal after the electrocardiogram test, the patient showed Apple Watch ECG recordings that indicated severe coronary ischemia. After going through a heart catheterization, it was revealed that she had "a severe coronary artery disease such as a main stem stenosis and a bifurcation lesion."

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She was then successfully treated with Balloon angioplasty and use of stent.

Praising the Apple Watch, the cardiologists said "The development of smart technologies paves the way for new diagnostic possibilities. In the case of the Apple Watch, after the mobile application is installed, the records an ECG when a finger is placed on the watch's digital crown. A 30-s tracing is stored in a PDF file that can be retrieved from the application. Thus, the Apple Watch may be used not only to detect atrial fibrillation or atrioventricular-conduction disturbances but also to detect myocardial ischemia. An apple a day may keep myocardial infarction away."

While ECG is saving lives around the world, there's another feature that is said to come in Apple Watch Series 6 later this year - Pulse Oximeter. This measures the oxygen saturation level of a patient and may help detect lung-related issues.