A Canadian firefighter credited Apple Watch for saving his life when he suffered a heart attack, according to a report over the weekend.
Given the wearable probably saved his life, the fit and active 44-year-old man said he’ll never go another day without it.
Firefighter seeks medical aid after atrial fibrillation warnings from Apple Watch
Novia Scotia man Travis Chalmers said he felt a warm sensation in his chest after playing street hockey with his son, according to GlobalNews.
“I just thought it was a flu or cold coming on and my seasonal allergies had been kicking in,” he said. “I thought it was flu-like symptoms and shrugged it off.”
But then he saw an atrial fibrillation warning on his Apple Watch, signifying an irregular or rapid heartbeat that could mean risk of heart attack or stroke. And the warning kept repeating, showing how crucial the heart attack ecg apple watch feature can be.
“About a half hour later, I’m laying down with my daughter and my heart rate is still beating out of my chest,” he said.
Still unsure about what, if anything, was happening to him after further warnings, he decided to go to the hospital.
Doctors confirm heart attack
“When I said atrial fibrillation and gave them the symptoms, I was rushed right in,” he said. “That’s when they told me I’m probably having a heart attack.”
Doctors found high troponin levels in his blood, which suggests heart damage. Tests confirmed the heart attack.
“I stayed in the hospital for a week and got more tests done to confirm and one of my arteries is 100 percent blocked,” Chalmers said. He noted that doctors figured it became completely blocked as he played street hockey, leading to the cardiac event.
Having worn Apple Watch for a long time, the device could pick up the irregularities compared to his average heart rate, Chalmers said.
“Basically, it tells you something is different from what it’s been monitoring before, and if this is out of character for you, see a medical practitioner immediately,” he said.
“It’s one of those things, you just don’t know what’s going on inside. It can hit anyone at any time. I’m very fortunate the watch gave me a second set of eyes.”
Doctors appreciate the wearable as an indicator
The story quoted a Halifax cardiologist on the value of Apple Watch for its ability to warn users about abnormal heart rhythms, whether or not they’re significantly dangerous.
“Patients are coming to us with information from their wearable devices that we now have to deal with,” she said, adding that devices provide an extra layer of information. “It’s looking for irregularities in the heart rhythm and while atrial fibrillation can be a common cause of that irregularity, there are certainly other benign causes that could lead to it as well.”
The wearable can help doctors “reconstruct what was going on to allow us to correlate their symptoms with what the heart rhythm might be doing at that particular time,” she said. “We can’t be with people 24/7, [but] the watch can be.”
So if the watch issues a warning and the patient is feeling unwell, seeking medical attention is recommended. And more people might do that given both factors in play.
Chalmers is certainly grateful Apple Watch helped him. He said he won’t go a day without wearing it.
“This was a really bad situation,” he noted. “If I didn’t come in, there’s a chance I wouldn’t be here.”
