A recent study, conducted by researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine found that the wearable tech such as Apple Watches can detect heart rate irregularities. The results of the Apple Heart Study further found them to be atrial fibrillation, which can cause strokes. Now, a veterinarian from Waco, Texas has said that the Apple Watch alerted him to a heart condition, before he noticed any symptoms. According to a report in CBS Austin, Dr Ray Emerson received a notification from his smart wearable that detected his irregular heartbeat. The report cited Dr Emerson as saying, "I looked down and it said you are in atrial fibrillation."
The detection soon had the veterinarian go to his doctor for an EKG and the doctor confirmed that he had atrial fibrillation. Following the detection, the 79-year-old had surgery at St David's South Austin Medical centre to correct the irregularity. Interestingly, the report highlighted that the vet was not having any symptoms associated with atrial fibrillation like heart palpitations, fatigue or dizziness before the smartwatch made the detection.
Dr Emerson revealed that the Apple Watch was a gift as he was "too cheap" to buy it himself, adding that the wearable technology is his "buddy" and is priceless, following its life-saving detection, the report revealed. The Apple Watch Series 1, 2 and 3 are capable of detecting irregular heartbeats while Apple Watch Series 4 and onwards are capable of performing ECG as well.