“Gaston D’Aquino did not wait for the priest’s final blessing before he left Easter Sunday mass in Hong Kong on April 1,” Cathy Hilborn Feng reports for The South China Post. “He went directly to Adventist Hospital to learn why the alarm on his Apple Watch had gone off during the service, alerting him to a spike in his heart rate.”
“‘I had read about these cases before, so I knew it was something that was serious,’ the semi-retired diamond trader says, adding he skipped family Easter lunch because ‘I thought that going to the hospital was that important. It was a strong signal, not ambiguous. It said I had an elevated heart rate,'” Feng reports. “That decision probably saved his life. ‘I told the doctor I don’t know why I’m here, but my watch tells me I have an elevated heart rate. He says, ‘Are you feeling anything?’ I said no, I feel fine, I’m feeling all right, nothing’s wrong.’ Hooked up to an electrocardiograph machine – which records the heart’s electrical activity – he learned something was wrong. He was immediately referred to cardiologists… After batteries of tests over the next three days, ‘they told me that out of the three main coronary arteries, two were completely blocked, and one was 90 per cent blocked.'”
“Until that alarm went off in church, D’Aquino had had no idea that his heart was a ticking time bomb. He is 76 but can easily pass for someone 20 years younger,” Feng reports. “The watch was a Christmas gift to himself about 18 months ago, bought to help him avoid missed calls. Having worked in the diamond and jewellery business for 56 years, he still consults with overseas companies. He carried his iPhone in his bag or pocket and did not always hear it ringing. ‘The watch vibrates and I can see the messages. I haven’t taken it off. That’s one of the things that’s good about the watch – it’s on you. It’s monitoring you all the time.’ …D’Aquino concluded: ‘Please continue promoting the use of the Apple Watch for anyone with cardiac problems. I lost a cousin two weeks ago to a massive heart attack, and if he had an Apple Watch, he might have had the same opportunity I got – to live.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Another one saved!
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I just love this Apple watch, Tim’s first device that he did from scratch. This will be a device and technology worth developing and I’m sure it will save many more lives in the future and be a boon for humanity. That’s just one of the reasons I love it and there are those that know about the oh so many features of love.
Keep up the great work Tim.
That’s great if you are wearing an Apple watch that is newer than the original. I bought the stainless steel one with the stainless steel band – which was $1,400 here in Canada, and for that price it doesn’t give you elevated heartrate notifications. This is strictly a software enhancement and should not be withheld from the original watch just for the sake of making someone upgrade. I live in the Apple ecosystem and have been happy to do so, but this kind of thing makes me resent this company….
Are you sure it’s not a matter of series 0 not having the right hardware? (I also have Series 0 and have noted the lack of elevated heart rate notifications)
Don’t think it’s an issue of hardware. I’m using the Cardiogram app and the watch can detect spikes – it’s just that HealthKit won’t allow the data. It’s a software thing.
Yes, I’m in the same boat as you, but I know that I’m free to join some other ecosystem, and guess what? Don’t expect any software upgrades, so dinging Apple is ridiculous.
Have you tried any of the other heart monitoring apps? Perhaps, they’ll give you notifications. I just look at the Health app, from time to time, and there, you can check your heart rate data for the day or week, etc. It’ll show your daily Max rate, and all the other measurements it took. If you’re max HR is not doing anything crazy at non-exercising hours, then what’s the big deal?
If you think you need a life saving device on your wrist, monitoring your hear all the time, then you can buy yourself a new Watch. I know Macy’s had a sale for $149 a while back, on a Series 1. I bought it for my nephew’s graduation. Or you could buy AliveCor’s EKG band, that you can replace your Watch strap, which will give you constant monitoring. I have the AliveCor device attached to the back of my iPhone, so I don’t need the watch strap. It gives you an FDA-approved single-trace EKG. It looks just like the multi-lead trace I get at the cardiologists. Of course, my dad was a cardiologist, and my bro a cardiothoracic surgeon, so I’m always interested in new heart monitoring devices.
The way I look at this is: If you decide the watch is beneficial to your health, $400 for a new series 3 is chump change compared to a hospital bill that might possibly have been avoided if you had the watch and it notified you in time to get the issue taken care of.
One of the challenges of technology is the long list of advances that will be coming from heavy investment in R&D. I’m waiting for the next Watch version because of the developments for diabetes that may be released. It’s a question of when to jump on to the new platform.
This is only helpful if you can afford to take of the issue you are being warned about. The uninsured or underinsured need not apply.
I don’t have the insurance issue as I live in Canada, the issue I have is taking time off work for all the tests, that I can’t afford.
Before you say but you won’t be earning anything if you are dead, the cost of living is 0 if you are dead so I can afford to be dead.
What are you talking about? The uninsured and underinsured can always go to the ER. They can’t turn you away, and the hospitals budget for charity cases.
My dad was a cardiologist in Canada, and in the US.
If you’re so busy, then get yourself an AliveCor device. It’s $75. It’ll take an FDA-approved single-trace EKG, that you can send to a board-certified cardiologist for $11, and get an immediate answer. It’s ridiculous to act like you can’t afford the time or money to actually live.
The funny thing about the Apple watch is before I had one, I wore all different kinds of watches. After getting it, I have never put on another watch. It is crazy, but once you get used to it, it is almost impossible to go back to other watches.
I didn’t know this watch was self-aware and could make decisions like that. Maybe it can go to Shithouse (whitehouse) and make more public relations congames, for the Tyrant.
That was helpful.
… my heart rate and tells me what’s happening any time I check it. But, it didn’t notice when I had mild angina a bit over a month back. The sensation did warn me. Now, three stents heavier, I’m working my way back.
The bill was nearly $1,800! And I went through the ER, using Medicare. ER >< free.