IANS
The electrocardiogram (ECG) feature on the Apple Watch has saved the life of a man in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, his son said.
Apple CEO Tim Cook wished R Rajhans, 61, fast recovery post surgery.
Rajhans, a retired pharma professional who uses an Apple Watch Series 5, decided to check his ECG on the Apple Watch after he felt unwell in March this year.
The Apple Watch was gifted to him by his son Siddharth, a student of Harvard University who has worked with some of the top tech companies in Silicon Valley.
“Since Apple Watch allows the ECG function, one can check it on a more regular basis,” Siddharth said. “Twice or thrice, in the middle of the night, my father was getting arrhythmia signals or irregular heartbeats. It’s a critical indicator.”
When the same result persisted, Rajhans decided to share the findings with his doctor. Though Rajhans did suffer from hypertension, he didn’t have any heart condition.
Further diagnosis revealed that Rajhans had 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-cardiography,” Siddharth said.
Post-surgery, Siddharth wrote to Cook and heard from him last week.
“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.
Apple’s team then got in touch with the Rajhans family.
“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.
The ECG app and irregular heart rhythm notification feature helps users identify signs of AFib, the most common form of irregular rhythm.
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.
The Apple Watch has to date saved many lives across the world via its health features like ECG, fall detection and others.
In 2018, the son of Pune-based lawyer Arati Joglekar, 53, wrote an email to Cook, thanking him for a “life-changing” moment courtesy Jiglekar’s Apple Watch when the wearable kept buzzing her to take deep breaths and relieve the stress as her heart rate had shot up to 136 beats per minute.
Cook responded to the son: “I’m happy your Mum is fine. Thanks for your note and kind words. Best.”
