Apple Watch Helps a Woman With The Early Detection Of a Deadly Blood Clot
The Apple Watch was launched in 2015 to make technology more engaging and accessible. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the product has had a transformative impact on the industry, but its most positive effect has not been on the technology side of things but on health. These watches have become a life-saving tool with their features, having recently saved a woman from a pulmonary embolism, as reported by Good News Network.
A Cincinnati woman was given a hint of her pulmonary embolism because, while sleeping, her heart rate was being monitored by her Apple Watch. Unlike other watches of similar kind in the market, the Apple Watch had the ability to track an individual's heart rate even at night while they are asleep. 29-year-old Kimmy Watkins shared that she suddenly woke from her sleep as she was feeling unwell and realized that her watch was beeping loudly, signaling that her heart rate was not within normal limits.
She saw that her watch had recorded a 178-beats per-minute resting heart rate while she was sleeping. This was alarming, as such a high heart rate normally occurs when an individual is involved in high-intensity running or swimming at her age.
Watkins immediately decided that she needed to get it checked out by a Doctor. After getting medical attention, she was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolism is a condition that happens when a clump of material or a blood clot gets stuck in a lung artery. This eventually causes issues with blood flow. It has been noted that the condition has a 50% survival rate among its victims. Therefore, it is extremely important that the condition be caught as quickly as possible in an individual so that they can seek appropriate treatment from medical experts.
Watkins shared with The Jerusalem Post, "I’m very lucky, and if my sleep hadn’t been disturbed, my partner would have found me asleep on the couch or not really asleep". If individuals like Watkins are interested in having their heart rate tracked on their watches, then all they have to do is go to the "Privacy & Security" section in the settings. This facility is present in such a section because the health data collected by watches and phones with the help of an app does not fall under the purview of the law like conventional medical records.
This is not the first time Apple Watch has been used to save someone's life. As reported by Imore.com, a 92-year-old Nebraska farmer was protected by the watch's feature of fall detection as it immediately sent the required information to emergency responders. The farmer suffered a 20 feet fall but was saved when Apple Watch contacted the fire department. In another instance, a Georgia man received medical intervention at the right time due to his Apple Watch. Keith Simpson checked his heart rate on the Apple Watch one day after feeling weak and found it to be well below the required range. He was suggested by his watch to seek attention and he was diagnosed with seven blood clots. Timely intervention gave him a longer life.