Apple Watch calls 911 for woman suffering from widowmaker heart attack

Posted:
in Apple Watch
The Apple Watch Fall Detection feature helped a woman get medical attention after collapsing, caused by suffering from a major and potentially fatal heart issue.

Fall Detection in the Apple Watch can call for help if you collapse.
Fall Detection in the Apple Watch can call for help if you collapse.


The Apple Watch has repeatedly been credited with saving lives of its users. In a new example of this, a Reddit user recounted an incident involving their mother's heart when the Apple Watch helped secure swift treatment.

Explained by u/xanderpy on r/Apple, the story recounts how the Redditor's mother felt a pain in her chest while on an out-of-state business trip. After messaging a friend in the same hotel about her concerns, she fell to the ground face-first.

Minutes later, the friend reached her room and called 911, but was informed that an ambulance was already on the way. It was later discovered that the Apple Watch had automatically called 911 through its fall detection feature.

While the Apple Watch does have heart rate detection features, such as the ECG since the Apple Watch Series 4, Apple has made it clear that the feature is not capable of detecting a heart attack.

The mother was taken to hospital and was found to have a ruptured aorta. A few days later after surgery, she was able to explain that the Apple Watch summoned assistance, with the fast transit to hospital also helping her chances of survival.

The Redditor concluded that, after believing similar stories are "exaggerated for publicity or possibly just made up," their view has changed on the matter. "This made me an Apple user for life and showed me that technology like this can truly save lives," they finished.

The Apple Watch has helped with various medical issues in the past, including helping uncover an undiagnosed atrial fibrillation in one writer, while a Cleveland man was able to have blood clots in his lungs diagnosed following blood oxygen alerts from the device.

In 2021, a Michigan woman said the Apple Watch saved her life after detecting a high heart rate, caused by a heart attack.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,039member
    Great outcome. I’m a little confused about the medical issue, though. A ruptured aorta is not a widow maker heart attack. In fact, that is not a heart attack at all. A widow maker heart attack involves a blockage in the LAD artery which runs TO the aorta.  
    Anilu_777Bart Ywatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 10
    XedXed Posts: 2,880member
    Waiting for the obligatory comment about how the Apple Watch didn't save her life, the medical professionals did. 🙄
    ronnjahbladeBart Ywatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 10
    sdw2001 said:
    Great outcome. I’m a little confused about the medical issue, though. A ruptured aorta is not a widow maker heart attack. In fact, that is not a heart attack at all. A widow maker heart attack involves a blockage in the LAD artery which runs TO the aorta.  
    Don't let the technical inaccuracy of the author get in the way of missing the main point to the story.
    edited May 2023 radarthekatwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 10
    aldannoaldanno Posts: 14member
    JP234 said:
    Lot of anonymity in this incident. Not at all convinced it's even true unless I learn the name of at least one involved party.
    That's a healthy level of skepticiscm. Could be people like their privacy or maybe they are a humble lot. Or, maybe it was all just imagined. 
    JP234Anilu_777watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 10
    Anilu_777Anilu_777 Posts: 577member
    JP234 said:
    Lot of anonymity in this incident. Not at all convinced it's even true unless I learn the name of at least one involved party.
    Unless they have permission, they can’t reveal the name of the person. In this era of always-on social media you seem to have forgotten about personal privacy. 
    Bart YradarthekatStrangeDayswatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 6 of 10
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 2,180member
    JP234 said:
    aldanno said:
    JP234 said:
    Lot of anonymity in this incident. Not at all convinced it's even true unless I learn the name of at least one involved party.
    That's a healthy level of skepticiscm. Could be people like their privacy or maybe they are a humble lot. Or, maybe it was all just imagined. 
    Yep. Getting harder all time to distinguish what is real from fabrication.
    The question is whether or not it’s believable that a person with a medical issue could collapse, triggering fall detection and a 911 call on an Apple Watch, resulting in a medical rescue with a positive outcome. 

    Even if the incident has been fabricated, it’s a plausible scenario. It’s exactly what the fall detection feature is designed to do. Seems like a waste of energy calling BS on it to me. 
    radarthekatStrangeDayswatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 7 of 10
    1348513485 Posts: 372member
    JP234 said:
    Lot of anonymity in this incident. Not at all convinced it's even true unless I learn the name of at least one involved party.
    On the other hand, we don't have your name and we accepted your posts 1341 times. 
    XedradarthekatStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 10
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,039member
    sdw2001 said:
    Great outcome. I’m a little confused about the medical issue, though. A ruptured aorta is not a widow maker heart attack. In fact, that is not a heart attack at all. A widow maker heart attack involves a blockage in the LAD artery which runs TO the aorta.  
    Don't let the technical inaccuracy of the author get in the way of missing the main point to the story.

    I think you mean "don't let the technical inaccuracy of the author get in the way of grasping the main point to the story."    It would be great if your little dig even made sense.  

    Incidentally, I haven't failed to grasp it.  The watch clearly helped summon the medics for a very serious incident that required immediate attention. A ruptured aorta is likely even worse than a heart attack.  And for this reason, I'm interested in what actually might have happened.  I do think it matters in terms of the tech involved.  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 10
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 13,101member
    JP234 said:
    aldanno said:
    JP234 said:
    Lot of anonymity in this incident. Not at all convinced it's even true unless I learn the name of at least one involved party.
    That's a healthy level of skepticiscm. Could be people like their privacy or maybe they are a humble lot. Or, maybe it was all just imagined. 
    Yep. Getting harder all time to distinguish what is real from fabrication.
    Absurd nonsense.
    muthuk_vanalingamihatescreennameswatto_cobrajony0
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