The ECG app and irregular heart rhythm notification feature on Apple Watch has saved the life of a 61-year-old man from Indore.
R Rajhans, a retired pharma professional who uses an Apple Watch Series 5 gifted to him by his son, decided to check his ECG on the Apple Watch after he felt unwell in March 2020.
His son Siddharth, a student at Harvard University who has worked with some of the top tech companies in Silicon Valley said that his father was getting arrhythmia signals or irregular heartbeats in the middle of the night.
When the same result persisted, he decided to share the findings with his doctor and it was found that Rajhans suffered from a low ejection fraction and required immediate heart surgery.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the surgery was delayed but Rajhans continued to monitor his ECG on his Apple Watch.
“My dad underwent a Mitral Valve replacement surgery and it was his Apple Watch that helped detect the irregular heart rhythm prior to the Valve failure Echo-cardiograph,” Siddharth said.
When left untreated, AFib is one of the leading conditions that can result in stroke, the second most common cause of death around the world.
After the surgery was successful, Siddharth wrote to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
“The idea of having a device like Apple Watch is to strike a balance between using tech and medical awareness in order to take charge of our parent’s lives. It saved my dad’s life. It’s a life-changing product,” Siddharth said.
Apple’s team then got in touch with the Rajhans family.
“Siddharth, thank you for sharing this. I am happy to note that your father received medical attention in time and I hope he’s feeling better now. Our team will connect with you,” Cook responded in an email.
The Apple Watch has saved numerous lives across the world with the help of its features like ECG, Fall Detection and more. The ECG app and irregular heart rhythm notification feature helps users identify signs of AFib, the most common form of irregular rhythm.
In 2018, a Pune-based 53-year-old lawyer Arati Joglekar wrote an email to Cook, thanking him for a “life-changing” moment courtesy of her Apple Watch when the wearable kept buzzing him to take a deep breath and relieve the stress as her heart rate had shot up to 136 beats per minute.
Her son wrote an email to Cook, to which Cook responded: “I’m happy your Mum is fine. Thanks for your note and kind words. Best”.