Dhaka, July 24 (UNB)- An Apple Watch user in Britain was alerted about his low heart rate by the device, which revealed a serious heart condition that ultimately resulted in a surgery to fix the problem. According to a report in The Telegraph, Paul Hutton, who is a technology writer based in Essex, was given continuous warnings of low heart rate by his Apple Watch, reports The Indian Express. 

The Apple Watch kept showing Hutton’s heart rate as below 40 bpm (the normal range is 60 to 100 bpm), and at first, his general physician diagnosed this as a low heart rate problem. But the issue persisted and his new Apple Watch (he upgraded in 2017) continued to send warning signs.

Another consultation with a specialist revealed a heart condition called ventricular bigeminy, which results in the heart beating irregularly and being unable to pump out blood effectively, notes the report. Hutton needed a surgery to fix the issue, which was successful.

“I keep checking my pulse on my Apple Watch and it all seems good,” he told the paper after the surgery. This is not the first report to talk about how an Apple Watch has potentially saved someone’s life by alerting them about their heart rate.

Back in April, a user had posted on Reddit on how the Apple Watch had saved their life by alerting them of a sudden spike in heart rate. By the time, paramedics arrived, the person had gone into shock and was rushed into emergency. Doctors later informed him that he had tachycardia, which results in the heart beating faster than 100 bpm, and there are various reasons for it.

Another Apple Watch feature that is being credited with saving lives is the fall detection. Back in February 2019, 67-year old Toralv Ostvang from Norway had a hard fall in his bathroom alone and was unconscious. He was rescued by the emergency services, who were alerted about the fall by the Apple Watch 4, which will dial the emergency service when it detects one.

Apple Watch Series 4 also with an ECG feature and an irregular heart-rhythm app. ECG or Electrocardiography records the electrical activity of the heart in order to detect if there are any issues. Apple has FDA clearance for the feature, and it is live in the US, UK, the majority of the European countries, though it has not yet come to India.

Where the ECG feature and India market are concerned, Dr Sumbul Desai, who is Apple’s VP of Health had told indianexpress that the company has been working “really hard” to bring the same to India. “There are no challenges per se. There is a process,” she had said.