How Apple Watch saved this clueless woman's life; how it happened

The Apple Watch is one of the most feature-rich smartwatches available today, and we regularly see news reports of the watch saving people’s lives thanks to the built-in sensors and features offered by the popular wearable device. The latest such story involves a Michigan woman whose life was saved after her Apple Watch informed her about her heart condition. She was having a 169 beats per minute heart rate, but had no idea why. She called her husband, who told her to get in touch with a doctor. And before she knew it, she was being whisked off to the hospital. She had recently had a heart attack without even realising it.

How it happened

According to a recent report by WZZM 13, Diane Feenstra, a resident of Norton Shores in Michigan, had a close call when her Apple Watch’s built-in EKG feature alerted her that her heart wasn’t functioning properly.

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Feenstra, who exercises regularly, later learnt that she had a full blockage in what is known as the Widow maker artery. "I think God used that watch to alert me to the fact that my heart wasn't functioning properly, " Feenstra told WZZM 13, which reported that she is now faring much better after a stent procedure was performed.

Apple Watch heart monitor

According to the report, the woman stated that the Apple Watch indicator is what caught her attention, and that unlike men’s symptoms (of a heavy weight on their chest) her symptoms included pain down her left hand and a swelling in her left foot. She also experienced some indigestion, which she thought was acid reflux. Until she saw the notification on her Apple Watch, she had thought the pain in her shoulder was being caused by a pulled muscle after having used the vacuum cleaner.

Timely gift

Feenstra’s Apple Watch was a birthday gift from her husband, just a month ago, according to the report. "It's such an easy thing to see what your heart rate is, had I not done that that morning who knows, but I may have had another heart attack that would have been fatal," she stated.

We recently reported that an Apple Watch saved the life of a 78-year-old man who fell down in his driveway and blacked out. The Apple Watch identified the situation correctly and sounded the alarm asking him to respond. When he failed to do so, it contacted 911 and asked for medical help along with his location, which is how they managed to reach him and save him in time. In another recent story, a cyclist was saved by his Apple Watch when he was washed away by a river and was hanging on for dear life from a tree while his Apple Watch called for help.