Apple Watch Saves Man's Life

Apple’s Watch is saving lives, at least according to anecdotal evidence. Image credit: Ian Morris

According to British tabloid The Sun a man’s life has been saved by his Apple Watch. The paper reports that Dennis Anselmo, a 62-year-old builder, felt “terrible” after taking lunch. Anselmo had a rest, and during that time looked at his Apple Watch, checking his pulse. He discovered that it was well over twice what it should be, registering 210 beats per minute.
Anselmo then called for an ambulance, and at hospital was later told that had he gone home he may well have died. Instead the doctors were able to clear his arterial blockage and he’s now doing well. And Anselmo isn’t the first person to claim that their Apple Watch has saved their life either.
Paul Houle Jr, a 17-year-old student from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, had a similar experience with his watch back in September 2015. The 17-year-old had some back and chest pain, ABC reported at the time. Houle Jr has a condition called rhabdomyolysis, which causes muscle breaks down and floods your blood with protein, which in-turn causes damage to organs. The full details are in the ABC story, but it’s safe to say that the Apple Watch helped alert Houle to the problem, and may well have saved his life.
ABC also reports that Apple CEO Tim Cook gave Houle a phone call, wished him well and offered him a new phone. He also said Houle would be welcome at Apple for an internship if he wished. All of which highlights the fact that this is pretty terrific PR for Apple, which is keen to focus efforts on healthcare with new tools for the iPhone and Apple Watch.
Naturally, while it was the Apple Watch that saved Anselmo and Houle, any wearable that can monitor your heart rate could offer the same. The caveat here, of course, is that heart rate sensors aren’t always the most effective, and could cause some false alarms. That said, it’s pretty safe to assume that if your heart rate is elevated and you don’t feel great a trip to hospital is probably a good idea anyway.

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Cardiovascular illness is a leading worldwide cause of death, and in some cases early treatment could save your life. In the US alone over 700,000 people have a heart attack each year and worldwide cardiovascular diseases kill more than 17 million people. So, if you have a heart rate monitor on your wearable it might well be worth making use of it when you have symptoms you might otherwise dismiss as being less serious.