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Apple Watch has time and again helped people get health alert and making them rush to the doctor before something tragic happens with them and it has done it again.
Apple Watch Series 10 is helping people detect early stage cancer
Apple Watch has long been applauded for its precise health and lifestyle features, such as heart rate monitoring, ECG, sleep tracking, and fall detection. Recently, it proved to be a life-saving device when it helped a woman detect a rare and aggressive form of cancer at an early stage. Thanks to the new Vitals app, the smartwatch showcased its powerful preventive health capabilities.
During an interview with The New Zealand Herald, Amanda Faulkner, a consultant psychiatrist based near Napier, revealed that she was only 48 hours from death when her new Apple Watch Series 10 alerted her to a major health condition.
She told the portal that she has been feeling fatigued, having heavy periods and dealing with the summer heat since the beginning of the year. However, she ignored the symptoms, figuring they were evidence of perimenopause or anaemia.
To her surprise, Amanda’s Apple Watch Series 10’s Vitals App, which she recently upgraded, frequently notified her about fluctuations in her resting heart rate. According to the Watch, her heart rate generally stayed around 55 beats per minute (bpm); however, it has recently spiked into the 90s. Faulkner initially thought her Watch was malfunctioning. However, it kept giving her reminders about the fluctuations, reminding her to consult her doctor.
Later, Amanda approached her GP and requested additional tests, presenting detailed graphs from her Apple Watch that clearly showed a consistent rise in her heart rate. Taking the data seriously, the doctors acted swiftly. Within just four hours of being admitted to the emergency department in Hastings, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) — a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer.
Amanda’s doctors later informed her that had she delayed treatment any longer, the outcome could have been fatal. The untreated cancer was progressing rapidly, and complications could have claimed her life within just a few days.
After being diagnosed with cancer, on January 9, Amanda was admitted to Palmerston North Hospital, where she has been undergoing chemotherapy. “If it wasn’t for my smartwatch constantly reminding me, I wouldn’t have known something was wrong,” she said. Her husband, Mike, also praised the Apple Watch for alerting her and providing her the opportunity to fight before it was too late.
Some of the significant Apple Watch health features include heart rate tracking, irregular rhythm notifications, sleep tracking, menstrual cycle tracking, mood logging and activity tracking. It also includes features like Fall Detection and Emergency SOS for safety.
Apple Watch Series 10 has a lot of health features but it does come at a premium which makes it tough for everyone to get one of these but the company has other affordable variants with limited features on offer.