Apple Watch ECG app helps save pregnant woman's life

Posted:
in Apple Watch
A woman credits her Apple Watch with saving her and her unborn baby's life after an alert of an unusually high heart rate.

Doctors safely delivered the baby. Source: KCAL News
Doctors safely delivered the baby. Source: KCAL News


Jesse Kelly had a few weeks left until her due date and wasn't doing any activity that would raise her heart rate above 120 beats per minute. However, her Apple Watch kept alerting her that her heart rate was high.

"It went off the first time and I thought it was strange," Kelly told CBS News. "Then the second time maybe ten minutes later or so and then the third time maybe a half hour or so later. When it went off the third time I thought 'OK something is going on.'"

She immediately went to the hospital, which is what Dr. Brian Kolski recommends people do. He wasn't Kelly's doctor, but he has had patients who are prescribed Apple Watches to detect certain heart conditions.

"Sounds like it was accurate," said Kolski. "And one of the first signs when people are in trouble, whether it's low blood pressure [or] bleeding, is an elevated heart rate."

Kelly discovered at the hospital that she was in labor and had been losing blood due to a pregnancy complication known as placenta abruption. This serious condition occurs when the placenta partly or completely separates from the uterus before delivery. Beyond the bleeding risk for the mother, it can decrease or block the baby's supply of oxygen.

Fortunately, doctors were able to deliver her healthy baby girl safely.

Kelly is grateful not only for the doctors and nurses who helped her but also for her Apple Watch and says that everyone should take the device's medical alerts seriously. "It's not just a text message," she said. "Pay attention to it and listen to your body."

The Apple Watch has helped save numerous people thanks to the electrocardiogram (ECG) app that Apple launched in 2018 with the Apple Watch Series 4. For example, just four days ago, a woman said the app helped save her life after detecting irregular heart rhythms, and doctors discovered a previously undiagnosed heart condition.

Read on AppleInsider
spheric

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    The older I get, the more I value this AW on my wrist. Heart issues, falls, all sorts of things are becoming a concern. Knowing it’s there to warn me, and will call for help if needed, both for myself and my partner, takes a load off of my mind. 
    edited January 2023 Bart Ywatto_cobralolliverjony0
  • Reply 2 of 11
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,101member
    The ECG stopped working on my watch a year after I bought it. 
  • Reply 3 of 11
    Bart YBart Y Posts: 67unconfirmed, member
    tyler82 said:
    The ECG stopped working on my watch a year after I bought it. 
    Well, did you take it to Apple to get the Watch checked out?  Did you delete or redownload the ECG app?  Did you update to a newer WatchOS version?  What did you do to get it checked?  If the sensor for heart rate or ECG failed, if under warranty or AppleCare would have addressed this.
    iOS_Guy80ilarynxwatto_cobralolliverjony0
  • Reply 4 of 11
    Strange story. 

    Women whose pregnancy is complicated by premature separation of the placenta develop vaginal bleeding. Did she not notice the bleeding & only respond to the high heart rate notifications? It takes substantial blood loss to cause the heart rate to increase. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 11
    LuvMacs said:
    Strange story. 

    Women whose pregnancy is complicated by premature separation of the placenta develop vaginal bleeding. Did she not notice the bleeding & only respond to the high heart rate notifications? It takes substantial blood loss to cause the heart rate to increase. 
    Hi,

    please do us a favor and only post something if you have more than a semi-knowledge at best. As an old Roman said: si tacuisses philosophus mansisses.

    placental abruption might cause vaginal bleeding but that depends on the location of the placenta site and if the bleeding tunnels to the cervix.. Many of them don ´t bleed at all as the hemorrhage accumulates behind the placenta itself.
    Many have massive abdominal pain.
    Have seen a multitude with symptoms ranging from nearly nothing at all up to massive bleeding and pain.

    With best regards

    Martin

    ObGyn since 1997.
    What’sATortoiseDAalsethilarynxFidonet127webweaselwatto_cobralolliversphericjony0
  • Reply 6 of 11
    maneuss said:
    LuvMacs said:
    Strange story. 

    Women whose pregnancy is complicated by premature separation of the placenta develop vaginal bleeding. Did she not notice the bleeding & only respond to the high heart rate notifications? It takes substantial blood loss to cause the heart rate to increase. 
    Hi,

    please do us a favor and only post something if you have more than a semi-knowledge at best. As an old Roman said: si tacuisses philosophus mansisses.

    placental abruption might cause vaginal bleeding but that depends on the location of the placenta site and if the bleeding tunnels to the cervix.. Many of them don ´t bleed at all as the hemorrhage accumulates behind the placenta itself.
    Many have massive abdominal pain.
    Have seen a multitude with symptoms ranging from nearly nothing at all up to massive bleeding and pain.

    With best regards

    Martin

    ObGyn since 1997.
    You expect us to just trust your expertise? You think med school and residency and 20+ years of practice make you an authority on your subject area? You are probably pro-vaccine, wear a mask, and wash your hands before patient care. Thanks, but I’m sure YouTube and PornHub has all I need to know about being an ObGyn. 
    DAalsethmaneusswatto_cobralolliversphericjony0
  • Reply 7 of 11
    maneuss said:
    LuvMacs said:
    Strange story. 

    Women whose pregnancy is complicated by premature separation of the placenta develop vaginal bleeding. Did she not notice the bleeding & only respond to the high heart rate notifications? It takes substantial blood loss to cause the heart rate to increase. 
    Hi,

    please do us a favor and only post something if you have more than a semi-knowledge at best. As an old Roman said: si tacuisses philosophus mansisses.

    placental abruption might cause vaginal bleeding but that depends on the location of the placenta site and if the bleeding tunnels to the cervix.. Many of them don ´t bleed at all as the hemorrhage accumulates behind the placenta itself.
    Many have massive abdominal pain.
    Have seen a multitude with symptoms ranging from nearly nothing at all up to massive bleeding and pain.

    With best regards

    Martin

    ObGyn since 1997.
    You expect us to just trust your expertise? You think med school and residency and 20+ years of practice make you an authority on your subject area? You are probably pro-vaccine, wear a mask, and wash your hands before patient care. Thanks, but I’m sure YouTube and PornHub has all I need to know about being an ObGyn. 
    Yes, i positively do think that expertise matters. :blush: 
    What’sATortoisewatto_cobrasphericjony0
  • Reply 8 of 11
    payecopayeco Posts: 581member
    Why does the article on here say that the ECG feature saved her? It doesn’t say that in the CBS News article. It wasn’t ECG that alerted her to her high heart rate, it was just the heart rate monitor.
    webweaselwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 11
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Bart Y said:
    tyler82 said:
    The ECG stopped working on my watch a year after I bought it. 
    Well, did you take it to Apple to get the Watch checked out?  Did you delete or redownload the ECG app?  Did you update to a newer WatchOS version?  What did you do to get it checked?  If the sensor for heart rate or ECG failed, if under warranty or AppleCare would have addressed this.
    Of course not. The whole idea of the post was to drop a turd on an otherwise positive experience.
    jony0
  • Reply 10 of 11
    payeco said:
    Why does the article on here say that the ECG feature saved her? It doesn’t say that in the CBS News article. It wasn’t ECG that alerted her to her high heart rate, it was just the heart rate monitor.
    Hi, Perhaps because the alert settings, heart rate detection and analysis by pulsoxymetry or ecg etc. are managed by the ecg app even if it´s another sensor. So the title seems to be correct. And in the article itself the wording is also correct. With best regards.
    spheric
  • Reply 11 of 11
    payecopayeco Posts: 581member
    maneuss said:
    payeco said:
    Why does the article on here say that the ECG feature saved her? It doesn’t say that in the CBS News article. It wasn’t ECG that alerted her to her high heart rate, it was just the heart rate monitor.
    Hi, Perhaps because the alert settings, heart rate detection and analysis by pulsoxymetry or ecg etc. are managed by the ecg app even if it´s another sensor. So the title seems to be correct. And in the article itself the wording is also correct. With best regards.
    Heart rate detection is done in the heart rate app. Blood oxygen readings are done in the blood oxygen app. Only ECGs are handled by the ECG app, so my point still stands. 
Sign In or Register to comment.