Having an Apple Watch has saved a father's life after the gadget detected that his heart had stopped 138 times within two days, prompting him to visit a cardiologist and get a much-needed surgery.
David Last received the watch as a birthday gift from his wife, Sarah Last. Soon after wearing the device, which has an electrocardiogram (ECG) feature, David constantly received alerts that his heart rate was dropping as low as 30 beats per minute when men his age typically have 60 to 100 beats per minute.
David and Sarah thought they had a faulty device because he had no history of a heart condition and no one in his family suffered from heart issues, per Apple Insider. The father of four also felt healthy because he had an active lifestyle.
However, after some convincing from his wife, David went to a cardiologist for a check-up. He was asked to get an MRI scan and to monitor his ECG for 48 hours.
David was at risk for sudden cardiac death
After two days, David saw a lot of missed calls from his doctor and then detected panic in his voice when they finally got to talk. The father was asked to go to the hospital immediately because he was at risk of sudden cardiac death.
His ECG showed that his heart stopped, usually while he was asleep, at an average of 10-second intervals because there was a block in his heart's junction box, per Daily Mirror. The bed was ready for his surgery when he got to the hospital. The father had to be fitted with a pacemaker to fix the junction box.
During the pre-surgery consultation, doctors told David that his case was unusual because he was an active man with no history of heart disease. Even his doctors were surprised by the blockage.
A month after the surgery, David and Sarah's life has returned to normal, and he acknowledges her for saving his life. If she didn't gift him the watch, he would not have known something was wrong with his heart.
Apple Watch saved grandpa two times
Meanwhile, in 2020, a grandfather also benefited from the life-saving features of an Apple Watch two times. Dan Pfau, 70, had been biking when he hit a speed bump and fell to the ground. When Pfau woke up, he was already inside the ambulance, but he could not recall how he got there. Apparently, when he was knocked unconscious, his Apple Watch dialed 911 for help; thus, he was rescued and airlifted to the hospital.
The incident would be repeated in 2021 when Pfau fainted and hit his head in the bathroom. He was conscious and managed to use the Apple Watch's dictation feature to send an SOS to his wife, per the Mac Observer.
Since the two accidents, Pfau has opted to wear his Apple Watch more than his regular watches. He said it would be foolish not to have it on him given the times the device has saved his life.
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