A silent threat, and a life saved. How an Apple Watch caught a deadly heart rhythm
Brad Jackson has worn an Apple Watch for years.
He got his first one because “it seemed like the fashionable thing to do,” he said.
Jackson had no idea that the watch would alert him to a potentially life-threatening heart abnormality, and in so doing saved his life, he said.
Jackson, 68, of Plano, was first alerted to an issue in June, when his Apple Watch informed him that his pulse had dropped to 32 beats per minute. The watch alerted him once more that day, telling him his heart rate was unusually low for at least 10 minutes. Most adults have a resting heart rate of between 60 and 100 beats per minute, according to the American Heart Association. Jackson’s resting heart rate was usually a little lower, but never as low as 32.
Jackson called his doctor and reported his symptoms, he said. His doctor instructed him to wear a Holter monitor, which records the heart’s activity, for a few weeks.
After reviewing the results from the Holter monitor, Jackson’s doctor told him that because he had no other symptoms, he didn’t need to worry, and should ignore his watch.
But then, a few weeks later, his Apple Watch bothered him again: His heart rate was again at 32 beats per minute. Except this time, his heart rate stayed there, and never went up.
“My pulse plummeted to 32, and stayed there at rest incessantly,” he said.
This time, Jackson’s doctor referred him to an electrophysiologist.
When Jackson went to see the electrophysiologist, he had an electrocardiogram, a test that measures the electrical activity of the heart. The doctor informed Jackson that he had bradycardia, or an abnormally low heart rate. Jackson needed a pacemaker, the doctor said.
“All of this is because of my Apple Watch,” Jackson said. “I don’t know that any of this would have happened otherwise, because I am not an alarmist.”
Bradycardia is a type of heart arrhythmia, and it can sometimes cause cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest, which occurs when the heart stops beating, is almost always fatal.
“It saved my life,” Jackson said. “I firmly believe that being totally unaware of my condition, I could have gone into cardiac arrest.”
Wearable technology like the Apple Watch is playing an increasingly important role in health care, as more patients use them to monitor their symptoms. About one in five U.S. adults say they regularly wear a smart watch or other wearable fitness tracker, according to a 2019 survey by the Pew Research Center.
