Apple Watch has a number of health features that have saved lives over the years. Now the most recent example is a powerful story about how Apple Watch’s heart health features can uncover hidden health issues that could prove deadly if gone undetected.
CBS News says that a woman from Maine who once thought her Apple Watch was broken now “swears by it.”
Apple Watch sends heart alerts
In May, Kim Durkee’s Apple Watch told her twice in a row that her heart was going through atrial fibrillation.
She thought at first that the wearable was giving her wrong information, but then she got another warning.
“The numbers got a little too high the third night,” Kim said. “Then I said, ‘You know what? Go to the emergency room, and if they tell you it’s nothing to worry about, throw away the watch.'”
What the Apple Watch found
It turned out to be atrial fibrillation, and an unknown, aggressive tumor was the cause.
“Doctors in Maine quickly found out why her heart was beating all over the place. It was simple and scary. She had a myxoma, which is a rare, fast-growing tumor that was cutting off the blood flow to her heart and would have caused a stroke if it hadn’t been removed.
Because of the warnings from her Apple Watch, doctors were able to get her to Massachusetts General Hospital, where they performed a five-hour open heart surgery to remove the deadly tumor.
Durkee had no other signs or symptoms besides the atrial fibrillation that her Apple Watch picked up. If the four-centimeter tumor hadn’t been found, it was thought that it would have “almost certainly” killed her.
Durkee is at home getting better, and he says that his Apple Watch “really saved his life.” CBS News says that “many people who heard her story and then bought an Apple Watch” have reached out to her.
Check out the video in CBS News’s report on Durkee’s story to learn more.
