9 Amazing Times an Apple Watch Helped People (and Saved Lives)

With each year passing with wearables in our life, we continue to see more and more evidence of those devices changing the ways we live and exist. In past years, we've identified how the Apple Watch has saved lives and benefitted the health of its users, particularly in stories where the device contacted the right people or preemptively informed individuals of deadly medical conditions. But how has it benefitted people in 2019? Continue reading to browse nine more examples of medical assistance, courtesy of the Apple Watch.

YouTuber Alerted to Heart Instability by Apple Watch

Joel Telling is known by many as the "3D Printing Nerd" on YouTube, a fairly popular channel on the network. When he received a notification from his Apple Watch that his heart rate had increased to 120 BPM while idle, he decided to check himself into the hospital. It turns out that he was suffering from tachycardia and would need additional medical attention to minimize potential damage. Thankfully, Telling's state drew more from increased physical stress than from actual medical threats to his health. But without that checkup, it is possible that things could have gotten far worse.

Apple Watch Helped Inform a Husband About His Wife's Epileptic Attacks

Kate Donald is a 40-year-old mother of three from Sydney Australia. Kate has suffered from epilepsy for years. Thankfully, her family has done their part to protect and care for her, each one trained in what to do if Kat were to have an epileptic attack, including the oldest child, at the age of 3. However, Kate was prone to falls. So Ben Donald, Kate's husband, purchased her an Apple Watch Series 4 with the explicit goal of tracking her body functions, most notably if and when she might have fallen. During a trip away from home, Kate had an epileptic attack, collapsing there. Her Apple Watch automatically contacted Ben and emergency services, who immediately drove to her home to help her. If she had not had the Fall Detection function on her person, it's likely that the attack would have escalated and caused severe harm to her body as a whole.

Apple Watch's Noise App Assists an Autistic Man

Last November, People featured a piece on how select functions in the Apple Watch helped to encourage and teach a family's autistic son, 21-year-old Sam Bennett, how to act in select social settings. Specifically, the watch offered visual data that helped to show how loud his voice could be when he wasn't consciously controlling said volume levels, mainly due to issues with a short attention span. According to Scott, Sam's father, the color feature (as volume goes up, the color shifts from green to yellow to red) helped show his son how loud he was and would make managing his social presence in quieter affairs much more straightforward. Scott hopes that this app will introduce habits that will help encourage his son to maintain a quiet voice at more reserved events, such as golfing or in theatres.

The Apple Watch Detected His Afib Condition Before The Doctors Did

Chris Mint is a project manager from Britain, as well as a hardcore exercise fanatic. He's been an active user of the Apple Watch, finding it to be a beneficial addition to his workout routine. However, the device provided a secondary benefit, informing him that he might have Atrial fibrillation (Afib), a condition that leads to poor blood flow and future medical issues. Afib is unusual among 30-year old men and typically arises in individuals with high blood pressure, previous heart attacks, or other medical problems that would plague individuals who are far less active or health-savvy than Mint. His doctors said the same, not expecting to find any physical issues in his body. But after a short test, they found two leaking heart valves. This early discovery allowed them to fix the problem without much issue. Chris was hardly the only one. Barry Madden of New Hampshire and Dr. Ray Emerson of Waco, Texas, were also alerted to Afib conditions that required immediate attention as well.

Woman Discovers She has Severe Heart Condition Through Apple Watch

Anne Rowe of Fairhope, Alabama, had received a diagnosis of asthma a few years ago, leading to certain medical developments. But along the way, she found that her condition was escalating, with her ability to breathe becoming harder as well as increasing fatigue. At the same time, she received an Apple Watch Series 4, allowing her to get a better sense of her medical health. The Apple Watch revealed that she suffered from Afib, specifically an irregular heart rate and poor blood flow. According to her doctors, it was an "a stroke waiting to happen and [they] had no clue." This lead to her getting open-heart surgery, which ultimately saved her life.

Man Rushed to Hospital After Apple Watch Heart Monitor ‘Went Nuts’

In April 2019, a 23-year-old user named ClockworkWVVII posted a thread to Reddit elaborating on how his life was saved by his Apple Watch. Apparently, his heartbeat began to increase irregularly, alerting him to the point of calling an ambulance. When said emergency service representatives arrived, they found the man in shock. Doctors stated that he was suffering from supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), a condition where a heart beats at more than 100 beats per minute. If Clockwork had not called the police, it's likely that he would have severely hurt himself before the medics could reach him in time.

Marathon Runner Discovers Heart Palpitations Through Apple Watch Heart Function

In June 2019, Phil Harrison, a 30-year-old man from the UK, took to Reddit to thank Apple for helping him discover some severe medical issues that could have threatened his life during a run. Initially, he considered himself to be in excellent health. But after his Series 4 Apple Watch detected a series of heart palpitations and warned him to see a doctor, he finally set up an appointment. There, he found atrial fibrillation, eventually leading to open-heart valve repair surgery a few months later, before he could run the marathon. It is suspected that if Phil had run the marathon, he would have done significant damage to his heart. In the thread, he stated that “...That without my Series 4 watch just giving me a little kick to get to A&E, I may not be here today....I would have done everything to run that marathon, which most likely would have killed me.” 

Man Saved from Disease He Did Not Know Existed By Apple Watch

In December 2019, 74-year-old Roy Robison was on vacation when his Apple Watch began pinging like crazy, warning him of a developing condition. Not that he knew what the condition was. He was a bit concerned, digging into it. After some time, his device revealed that he was suffering from Afib in his heart, something that he did not anticipate, or even know was a condition. So after Thanksgiving, Roy admitted himself to a hospital, where the doctors found out he had a significant condition and operated on him. Roy himself is not sure if these actions directly saved his life, but he is immensely thankful to his Apple Watch for informing him about said developments.

67-Year-Old Norwegian Man Saved by Fall Detection

Emergency services reported finding an elderly 67-year-old man in poor medical condition in February of 2019 after his Apple Watch Series 4 detected a significant fall and alerted the ambulance to come to him. While the specific details of what happened are vague, reports stated that Toralv Østvang was found unconscious and bloody, with several injuries to his skull. The man has recovered since and is in better health.