A veterinarian hailing from Texas claims that his Apple Watch alerted him to a life-changing heart condition in its early stages, all thanks to the AFib detection feature.
CBS Austin reports that Dr. Ray Emerson was alerted with an irregular heartbeat notification from his Apple Watch. Emerson was unaware that he had any heart irregularities until the device brought it to his attention. He then promptly visited his doctor for atrial defibrillation, confirmed it with an EKG and had surgery to repair the condition.
St. David Medical Center’s Dr. Jason Zagrodsky, a heart specialist mentions that people regularly visit him saying that their Apple Watch has notified them of potential health problems.
The Apple Watch sends a pop-up notification whenever it measures irregular heartbeats that could be atrial fibrillation. The device will then recommend the user to see his or her physician for further evaluation.
Irregular heartbeat detection is a feature that began with the Apple Watch 1 and later models.