The Apple Watch gave two warnings to one user on the same day saving his life in the process
But the routine that Ken had with his Apple Watch changed last October. He tells the story. “I got an alert back in October that my breathing was elevated. So basically you have a certain number of breaths per minute, basically said I went from 14 to 17 or 18,” Counihan said. “My wife had me make a phone call to my son and he suggested I go to the outpatient care, get it looked at, which is what I did. And they just did an X-ray. And they gave me some meds for bronchitis at the time.”
The Apple Watch’s blood oxygen monitor saved Ken Counihan’s life
So Counihan figured that despite the warning from his Apple Watch, he got off fairly easy (bronchitis isn’t a walk in the park, but it beats having a serious heart ailment). But the Apple Watch, once it spots a problem, is tenacious. The same day he received the bronchitis diagnosis, the blood oxygen monitor on the device sprung into action. Once again, Ken gives us the play-by-play.
Had he ignored the alert from his Apple Watch, Ken Counihan probably would died overnight
Luckily for Counihan, his Apple Watch was working around the clock (no pun intended) and warned him about his SP02 level. The doctors said that it was a good thing that Ken went to the ER. That’s because 60% of the people that have this condition at the same stage as Counihan go to sleep and do not wake up the next morning.
Dr. Franjic said that she sees more patients coming into the ER with test results from their smartwatches and other devices. She says, “We do have patients that come in and they do notice these trends of ‘my heart rate’s higher than usual’ or ‘it’s showing me that… I’m having an abnormal rhythm. And so having those pieces of information can kind of just help the physician to try and diagnose what the underlying issue is and to help prevent any life-threatening emergencies from occurring.”
Counihan not only credits the Apple Watch with saving his life, but he also has friends who bought the device because of what happened to him. “I just had dinner with a friend the other night…and he’s looking to get an Apple Watch now as well. It saved my life. It’s amazing.”
Source: Phone Arena
