The Apple Watch is credited with saving the life of a Maine woman. The watch’s warning of atrial fibrillation reportedly allowed the woman to be rescued with surgery to deal with a deadly tumor. In late May, 67-year-old Kim Durkee received multiple notifications from her Apple Watch – warning that her heart was in atrial fibrillation. After disregarding the results of the first two nights, she felt the third night’s numbers were a little too high, which made her feel a little uncomfortable.
But Durkee still didn’t believe the notice, she told herself – “You know what, go to the emergency room and if they tell you it’s nothing to worry about, then throw the watch away.” She told WBZ-TV about the situation.
Doctors identified the erratic heartbeat and determined it was a leiomyosarcoma. It’s a rare type of tumor that grows rapidly and can constrict the blood supply to the heart, which can lead to strokes.
When asked how she knew she was A-fib, Kim told doctors because her watch told her so.
Durkee underwent surgery on June 27 at Massachusetts General Hospital, where the four-centimeter tumor was removed after five hours of open-heart surgery. After an 11-day stay in the hospital, she returned home to continue her recovery.
“I consider myself very fortunate to be here talking to you,” Kim said. She has a lot more to say, as many other Apple Watch owners have gotten in touch with her after her story came to light.
The Apple Watch has been cited many times as the reason people are able to seek help quickly in emergencies and for diagnosing other neglected conditions. In March, a dentist in India used the ECG feature after feeling chest discomfort, which turned out to be a blocked artery.
Other features have also helped save lives, like fall detection that allowed the wearer to get a lung cancer diagnosis and a phone feature for calling for help when a swimmer was stuck in a river.
