For nearly a decade, Apple Watch has been helping customers detect vital diseases. The latest is a situation in Florida involving a sheriff's deputy and constant warning from deputies.
NBC affiliate WFLA shares the story of Sarasota Deputy Sheriff Luke Heyman. After three heart rate alerts and two hospital visits, Heyman's Apple Watch led to the discovery of blood clots in both lungs.
“I checked my pulse and it was about 160 '' Heyman said. “I thought it was just a faulty watch or just an erroneous reading.” Two days later he said he felt sick and his legs felt like jelly. Then he received the same warning. “At that point I thought, well, two alerts in a week,” Heyman explained. “I should probably get tested.”
Doctors ruled out a heart attack, but could not diagnose it. Hayman said he only went home because the nausea returned. His resting heart rate returned to 160 beats per minute, so he returned to the hospital. “When I went to the emergency room, they gave me a CT scan with some contrast,” Heyman recalls. “They discovered that I had several blood clots in each of my lungs.”
Heyman could have lost consciousness or something worse if the blood clots had not been treated, his doctor said. Dr. Pawan Kapadia, a cardiologist in Tampa, added that “a life may have been saved” with the Apple Watch as a result.
Apple Watch high heart rate alerts are triggered when your heart rate exceeds a certain level for too long outside of exercise. Apple Watch Series 1 and later, including Apple Watch SE, support this feature for users 13 years and older. Learn more about how Apple Watch can monitor your heart health here.
