Redditor would have died on the couch, if Apple Watch didn't sound the alarm

Posted:
in Apple Watch edited February 2023
The Apple Watch has helped save one owner's life, by alerting them to a racing pulse following a nap that led to a diagnosis of severe internal bleeding.

Apple Watch Series 7
Apple Watch Series 7


Apple's wearables include a number of different alerts to help users monitor their health, including some relating to pulse rate. According to a Reddit post, one lucky wearer was helped from a potentially fatal situation by one such alert.

Posted on Thursday by a user identified as "digitalmofo," the post to the r/AppleWatch subreddit titled "Well, my Apple Watch 7 just saved my life" briefly recounts how the wearable device notified of a medical issue.

One week prior to the post, the user had set their iPhone and Apple Watch to Do Not Disturb for work, and after feeling tired at lunch, had a "quick nap" on their couch. After the nap, they saw at least 10 notifications on the Apple Watch stating their pulse was racing.

On seeing the notifications, the Redditor called out from work for the rest of the day to try and reduce the racing, but to no avail. A video call with their doctor prompted the user to check the times and pulse rates, as well as their oxygen level, with the doctor making the decision to call 911.

The issue was "severe internal bleeding," the user claims, with them also reportedly having "little over 3g/dL hemoglobin" (grams per deciliter), far below their normal of 15. Emergency medical staff initially believed it was a heart attack, before determining it was a GI bleed.

In a later follow-up post, the user explains they lost five pints of blood, with an endoscopy revealing a diagnosis of esophagitis, gastritis, duodenitis, and a hiatal hernia.

"They said had I not got there for a transfusion when I did, I'd not have made it," the user adds, before offering thanks to the nurses, doctors, blood donors, and everyone involved in the emergency. The post concludes with the user admitting "I'd have just passed out and died without ever knowing if not for my Apple Watch."

The story is the latest where the Apple Watch is credited in helping out in an emergency.

In January, the ECG app helped save a woman and her unborn baby's life, following an alert for an unusually high heart rate. In September 2022, a UK man was bombarded by low resting heart rate alerts, as his heart reportedly stopped 138 times in a 48-hour period.

Other non-health features have also saved lives. In February, the crash detection feature helped lead emergency services in Germany to a vehicle that was approximately 60 feet below the roadway, hidden in bushes and not spottable from the road itself.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    Excellent. Glad I wear an apple watch, you never know.
    Anilu_777twokatmewgregoriusmramanpfafflolliverradarthekatqwerty52
  • Reply 2 of 8
    omasouomasou Posts: 576member
    Excellent. Glad I wear an apple watch, you never know.

    This ^^^. The only reason, I wear a watch again.
    twokatmewchasmlolliverqwerty52
  • Reply 3 of 8
    Man, what did that OP eat for lunch?!
    Phoenix303twokatmewBart Y
  • Reply 4 of 8
    Man, what did that OP eat for lunch?!
    Sounds like possibly a hand grenade
    edited February 2023 Phoenix303twokatmewmike1smack416FileMakerFeller
  • Reply 5 of 8
    Man, what did that OP eat for lunch?!
    Who does number 2 work for?!
  • Reply 6 of 8
    Is there a setting I can check to see if O2 and Pulse are automatically checked? I need someone to help at home to check due to blindness.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    Bart YBart Y Posts: 67unconfirmed, member
    This is another great example of how the Apple Watch is saving lives.  This guy was bleeding for a long while from the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum,cause unsaid but most commonly from chronic alcohol or NSAID use, sometimes via other medications as well.

    Same heart rate alerts will be useful for my own handicapped daughter who has had two GI bleeds from her middle and lower gut in the last year (short gut syndrome and chronic intestinal inflammation), the most recent in early January.   We’re getting her an Apple Watch 8 within the next two weeks.

    gregoriusmFileMakerFellerradarthekatqwerty52
  • Reply 8 of 8
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,305member
    zzdakota said:
    Is there a setting I can check to see if O2 and Pulse are automatically checked? I need someone to help at home to check due to blindness.
    You can choose to share your automatic pulse and blood oxygen readings with a trusted person (they arrive in the form of text messages, if I recall correctly). Often this trusted person would be your doctor, but you can add a relative or some other person in a position to help you if they get alarming readings.
    lolliverqwerty52
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