We have heard many stories in the past about how the Apple Watch has helped saved the life of its wearer, thanks to its built-in heart rate sensor. Now it looks like Apple can chalk up yet another victory because in a report from ABC Action News (via Cult of Mac), the Apple Watch could have played a role in saving the life of a teenager.According to the report, 18-year Florida resident Deanna Recktenwald was at church when her Apple Watch alerted her to the fact that her resting heart rate had hit 190 beats per minute, which is no doubt an alarming figure especially if you’re not doing anything. According to Deanna’s mother Stacey Recktenwald, “It was alarming that the watch was telling us to seek medical attention. I didn’t even know that it had the capability of giving us that alert.”
They then went to a walk-in clinic where the staff confirmed the rapid heart rate. Deanna was then taken to the emergency room at Tampa General Hospital where it was discovered that she suffers from chronic kidney disease, where her kidneys were found to be only functioning at 20% which meant that she would require a transplant in the future.
Stacey later fired off an email to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, thanking him for the Apple Watch’s life-saving feature in which Cook replied, “I’m happy to hear your daughter is fine now. Thanks for sharing her story. This inspires us to keep pushing.” This is not the first time we’ve heard the Apple Watch alert users to potential health problems, but in the past we’ve also seen how users have used it to call for help when their phones were not in reach.
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