Twinning: Coronary Artery Disease in Monozygotic Twins
Couple Credits Apple Watch For Detecting Silent Heart Condition Requiring Medical Intervention
Apple Watch added atrial fibrillation detection several years ago, and customers have benefited from the feature ever since. The latest example of Apple Watch making a difference comes from a couple out of Summerville, South Carolina.
Post and Courier has the story of Jeff and Ellen Priest, who credit the Apple Watch with discovering his silent heart condition: Jeff Priest was sitting on the couch when an alert popped up on his Apple Watch, telling him he had a sudden heart condition called atrial fibrillation. For a man with no health problems and no family history, there could only be one conclusion: "I thought there was something wrong with the watch," said Priest, 65, retired provost of University of South Carolina Aiken. "I wasn't feeling bad, I was feeling my normal self." But his wife, Ellen, took it more seriously. Jeff's experience isn't unique. Apple Watch has been credited over and over again with being the first signal that something is wrong for AFib patients who report feeling perfectly fine. "Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a type of irregular heart rhythm where the upper chambers of the heart beat out of sync with the lower chambers," Apple explains in documentation for the Apple Watch. "According to the CDC, approximately 2% of people younger than 65 years old and 9% of people 65 and older have AFib. Irregularities in heart rhythm become more common as people get older. Some individuals with AFib don't experience any symptoms." Detecting AFib early can make all the difference in the world for people with the silent heart condition. Without the Apple Watch, however, the outcome could have been very different. When left untreated, AFib can lead to stroke or heart attack. In Jeff's case, he was able to seek medical attention and receive proper treatment that makes the heart condition manageable. He was also to monitor the heart condition from his watch without needing to stay home or at the hospital for further evaluation. "I wasn't having any symptoms," he said. The staff kept asking, " 'Your chest doesn't hurt?' No. 'You can't feel your heart racing?' No." […] They let them go home hours later after medications got him stabilized. But when he saw Schneider two days later, he was still in atrial fibrillation, even though he still did not feel bad. She kept him on the medications but made an appointment for him to get his heart shocked back into a normal rhythm. He got permission to go to a golf tournament, and in the middle of it he suddenly felt things return to normal. "I checked on my watch and I was" out of atrial fibrillation, Jeff said. The shock became unnecessary. Read the full story at the Post and Courier. For more on how Apple Watch is making an impact in health, see our Apple Health guide. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Apple Watch: Users Say Heart Features Saved Their Life
Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inboxSign up to our free IndyTech newsletterGary Smith was on a plane and his Apple Watch was tapping him.
That's not unusual: he's cabin crew on a British airline, and a big fan of Apple. But the taps were alarming.
Smith was flying home from Nashville and had, shortly before, found himself feeling "quite unwell". This wasn't the first time – in the weeks before he'd found himself unexpectedly out of breath and tired, and he'd mentioned it to his doctors who had suggested that it was something to keep an eye on. But he had a lot of other things to keep an eye on, and a lot of flights to make – so he carried on as normal.
But now he was flying home, feeling unwell, having taken himself off to the beds that are used for crew rest on aircraft. Intending to relax with a view to feeling better, his Apple Watch did not seem happy: pinging with warnings, and when he opened them up he saw that his heart rate was bouncing up and down.
"This can't be right," he thought, having considered the Apple Watch's heart features as a "gimmick of sorts". He told himself it wasn't accurate, felt "alarmed but not too alarmed", went back to sleep and drove home.
A few hours later he was in A&E, being told he needed to come back for more investigation after the weekend. A few days later, he'd come back and been told he needed another referral, for an angiogram that could explain his heart's odd behaviour and his unwell feelings.
An Apple watch is seen on display at the Apple Store in Grand Central Station on December 18, 2023
(Getty Images)
And a day after that everything got worse. "I started going ice cold, my vision started coming and going; it was as though somebody was slowly but surely switching me off," he told The Independent. His Apple Watch was also alarmed: his heart rate was skipping about again, and the ECG feature showed that it was not beating as it should be.
His Apple Watch had been right – something was very wrong. He was back to the hospital, in an intensive cardiac care unit, and ended up with a pacemaker. Even that pacemaker connects to his Apple gadgets: an app means that doctors can check in on him remotely, and he can keep tabs on himself.
That has proven helpful in the time since. Last year, for instance, his Apple Watch started blaring again – "I thought, oh god, here we go again". It was back into hospital and doctors found that it had been overcompensating, doing too much work on behalf of his heart.
Before, he had thought of his Apple Watch as a helpful and useful gadget, sitting neatly along his iMac and iPhone. Now, he was so delighted with its intervention that he was writing to Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive.
"I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone at Apple for saving my life," he wrote, telling his story at length. "Thanks to my watch it warned of the trouble I was in without knowing of it.
"So twice my watches helped save me!!!" he wrote. "Be under no illusion that it was a really tough time to go through and am so appreciative to be alive and get to enjoy life as much as I can!"
Cook had replied within hours. "I'm so glad you sought medical attention and are receiving the treatment you need. I wish you a full and speedy recovery," he wrote.
"Be well," he signed off. It was a pleasant closer but it was also an instruction that has defined much of Tim Cook's time at Apple, which has involved not only the creation of the Watch but a whole suite of health products aimed at encouraging people to live in a healthy – more well – way.
He has said that he believes that Apple's "greatest contribution to mankind" will be its health breakthroughs. And Apple has pointed to stories such as Gary's in a demonstration of that fact, highlighting them in its regular keynote events.
Pip, a 45-year-old from South Wales, was one of those people, watching those keynotes. "I'm the first to race home when there's an Apple keynote or something launching, to watch it – I've got my dinner set up, and my iPhone in front of me, watching it." The health features were an interesting part of those videos, but little else: "I'm sure that's really nice for the people who need that", she remembers thinking while watching those introductions. It wasn't until she underwent a similar experience that she realised that they were literally life saving.
Her story also began with a notification, her Watch telling her that her heart rate had changed and appeared to be irregular; she also had largely ignored it. She thought that she had actually been especially active recently, and wondered whether that was having an effect. But a day or two later she was having heart palpitations, and her Apple Watch was warning her that her heart was skipping beats. Days later her GP told her that she too had an irregular heartbeat.
She wrote to Cook in similarly glowing terms. "GP said that the watch is an actual life saver because I may have missed the physical symptoms and it could have been worse down the road. I should have taken more notice of the warning," she wrote to Cook. "I just want to say thank you! You've no idea how life changing these devices are until something like this happens."
He responded similarly, once again with a message to "Be well". The suite of heart features in the Watch have been at the centre of a totally different kind of attention in recent months, after Apple was forced to pull some of them because of a patent dispute with a healthcare technology company.
This illustration photo shows an Apple Watch 9 displaying the blood-oxygen level detection settings
(AFP via Getty Images)
But that controversial feature – the pulse oximeter, which measures the amount of oxygen in the blood – was just one of a number of new features introduced in recent years. They include the ECG and heartrate tools, but also heart studies that allow users to opt into sharing their data with researchers with a view to improving healthcare.
Apple did not intend for this to be a central part of the Watch: the first version came with a heartrate sensor, but primarily because it was a better way of measuring how many calories people were burning through their day. But Apple started receiving letters like those from Pip and Gary: more and more messages that suggested people were having their lives saved.
Jeff Williams, chief operating officer of Apple Inc., speaks during an Apple event at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park on September 12, 2018
(Getty Images)
"The first letter that we got about it saving somebody's life with just the heart rate monitor, we were surprised, because anybody can go watch the clock and get their heart rate," Jeff Wiliams, Apple's chief operating officer, told The Independent 2019. "But then we started getting more and more and we realised we had a huge chance and maybe even an obligation to do more.
"That led us down the path to do everything including medically regulated apps. Health is such an important dimension. But it's just one dimension of the Watch. It does so much more, from telling the time to sending messages or making calls and so on. If you tried to sell a heart rate monitor to alert you to problems, you know, 12 people would buy it."
Apple's inbox has no doubt filled with many more emails since; yet more emails to Tim Cook. And at the same time it is no doubt working on more features that will allow people to be more well: rumours have suggested that it is working on sensors that can spot high blood pressure, sleep apnea and diabetes.
Apple Watch Heart Rate Not Working? Here's How To Fix It
I have had many issues with my Apple Watch when the heart rate tracking is not working, this usually happens either at the start of a workout or during a workout, there are several things that you can try to stop this issue from happening on your Apple Watch. This guide was written using the most recent version of Apple's watchOS software which is watchOS 10.3.1.
The Apple Watch comes equipped with an array of fitness and health-monitoring functionalities, among which the heart rate monitor stands out as a key feature. This innovative tool is designed to provide real-time insights into your cardiovascular health, making it an indispensable companion for both fitness enthusiasts and individuals looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Nevertheless, you might encounter instances where the heart rate monitor does not perform as anticipated. There could be moments when your Apple Watch fails to detect your heart rate accurately, delivers inconsistent readings, or the sensor ceases to function entirely. In such situations, it's crucial to remain calm and not to let frustration take the upper hand. We have meticulously prepared an exhaustive guide aimed at assisting you through the process of identifying and resolving these issues. This guide is crafted to navigate you through the troubleshooting process systematically, ensuring you can quickly return to making the most of your Apple Watch's health and fitness tracking capabilities.
Understanding How the Apple Watch Measures Heart RateBefore we dive into solutions, let's understand how your Apple Watch measures heart rate. The underside of your Watch uses green LED lights paired with photodiodes to detect blood flow in your wrist. The Watch flashes these lights hundreds of times per second to calculate your heartbeats per minute (BPM).
Troubleshooting Your Heart Rate SensorFollow these steps to address problems with your Apple Watch heart rate monitor:
1. Basic ChecksSometimes, a simple restart helps both your Apple Watch and iPhone get back on track.
Ensure both your Apple Watch and iPhone are running the latest versions of watchOS and iOS respectively. Software updates may contain fixes for known issues.
5. Unpair and Re-Pair Your Apple WatchIf the issue persists, unpairing and re-pairing may reset the connection and clear out any bugs:
Follow the on-screen instructions to re-pair your watch.
Advanced ConsiderationsIf you find that your difficulties persist even after diligently following the troubleshooting steps provided, it is highly advisable to reach out to Apple Support for assistance. Their team of experts is well-equipped to offer a more in-depth diagnostic analysis of your device, potentially identifying issues that are not immediately apparent. They may also suggest a range of repair options or adjustments to ensure your Apple Watch functions optimally. Hopefully these tips should help you get this issue sorted on your Apple Watch, I have used many of these myself in an attempt to cut down on how often this happens with my Apple Watch when working out.
Maintaining a heart-healthy lifestyle is of paramount importance, and the heart rate monitoring capabilities of your Apple Watch serve as an instrumental tool in this endeavor. However, it's crucial to recognize that while this technology offers valuable insights into your heart health, it does not substitute the professional medical advice and regular checkups provided by your healthcare provider. Regular consultations with your doctor are essential to ensure a comprehensive understanding of your heart health. By adhering to the recommended troubleshooting steps and maintaining an open dialogue with your healthcare professional, you can address common issues effectively and enjoy a more dependable and enriching experience with your cherished wearable device. You can find out more details about the Apple Watch heart tracker over at Apple's website.
Image Credit: Blocks Fletcher
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