Apple Watch saves Florida man's life during Thanksgiving with its built-in ECG function

A few months ago there were multiple reports wherein people claimed the Apple Watch saved their lives. There was a bike accident that knocked a man unconscious, then another incident when a hiker fell from a cliff into a river. Both of these individuals are reportedly alive today thanks to the smartwatch's Hard Fall detection feature. Now, a 74-year-old man who was on a vacation last week for the holidays was allegedly prompted by his wearable about what could possibly be atrial fibrillation (AFib).

As 9to5Mac explains it, Roy Robinson, a resident of Lake Worth, Florida, was in Baltimore to visit his family. According to a source, he and his wife Dale went to meet their granddaughter who was still at school. Upon their arrival, she apparently wanted to show them her classroom, which was on the third floor.

After climbing up the flight to stairs, he reportedly felt out of breath, which was out of the ordinary according to his wife. Then his Apple Watch started to issue an alert about him currently being in atrial fibrillation. "So I rested and didn't think anything of it, and later that afternoon, the watch started beeping probably about once an hour, saying, 'You're in A-fib,' and I had no idea what A-fib was," Robinson explained.

Failing to understand what it meant, he finally went online to figure out the reason behind the continuous alerts. What was surprising about it is the family did not immediately seek medical help. In fact, the group first finished their Thanksgiving dinner. Afterwards, his son insisted that they go to the hospital, which was less than two miles away.

When they got to the hospital, the staff inquired about their reason for being there and he told them about the Apple Watch alert. After running a few tests and seeing the ECG results, he was immediately admitted for further care. Moreover, Apple CEO Tim Cook likewise sent him a personal email to wish him well.

This is just one of the many cases wherein Apple Watch users were given appropriate medical care in time. The Hard fall detection feature and ECG were features introduced with the Series 4 and is also available in the Series 5 model.