By <https://9to5mac.com/author/benlovejoy/> Ben Lovejoy
The <https://9to5mac.com/guides/apple-watch/> Apple Watch's ECG feature can
officially only indicate atrial fibrillation, but an anesthesiologist
working at a California hospital says that it picked up on a critical heart
disease so serious that he requires a bypass operation.
<https://health.usnews.com/doctors/donald-milne-296628#hospitals> Dr.
Donald W Milne from Antelope Valley Hospital shared the story with us and
has also written to Tim Cook .
I have the first generation of the Apple Watch to be able to do heart
monitoring. I know that the primary intended use is to monitor for atrial
fibrillation. As a 66 year old anesthesiologist I use my watch for many
occasions.
However a number of months ago I was working out on an elliptical machine,
And I experienced more shortness of breath than usual for a workout. I used
the ECG function to take an ECG at that time.
I observed ST segment depression on the tracing. That resolved and returned
to normal with rest. This was again documented by the tracings.
I had no history of any heart disease prior to this incident.
An appointment with my primary care physician obtained a resting ECG in her
office that was normal. However upon showing the tracing with the ischemia
she agreed and referred me to a cardiologist at John Muir Concord hospital .
He agreed as well with the assessment and upon having an angiogram yesterday
the finding of critical diffuse coronary artery disease was found and I am
now scheduled for a 5 vessel bypass and aortic valve replacement on July 13
2020.
Milne said that detecting the critical heart disease early enough to treat
it saved his life.
A long story short is that without the Apple Watch tracing I would never
have known I had disease in time to be able to intervene before having a
potentially fatal heart attack.
The Apple Watch has clearly saved my life.
It did rely on Milne being qualified to interpret the ECG reading to
diagnose his <https://9to5mac.com/guides/apple-health/> health problem, but
it was still impressive that a single-lead ECG provided enough data to allow
him to do so.
It's of course not the first time we've read a report of the Apple Watch
saving someone's life, but it's particularly compelling to hear a first-hand
report from a board-certified doctor.
*
<https://9to5mac.com/2017/12/15/apple-watch-saves-life-managing-heart-attack
/> How Apple Watch saved one man's life - and how it's empowering him after
his heart attack
* <https://9to5mac.com/2019/08/23/apple-watch-ecg-afib-saved-life/>
Alabama woman says 'no doubt' Apple Watch atrial fibrillation detection
saved her life
*
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/01/09/apple-watch-tachycardia-jorge-freire-jr/>
Apple Watch saves Brazilian man after heart alerts lead to life-threatening
tachycardia diagnosis
*
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/06/19/apple-watch-fall-detection-92-year-old/>
Apple Watch fall detection helps save life of 92-year-old farmer after fall
from a ladder
* <https://9to5mac.com/2019/04/06/apple-watch-high-heart-rate/>
Reddit user says Apple Watch saved his life helping detect supraventricular
tachycardia
*
<https://9to5mac.com/2019/10/22/apple-watch-fall-detection-saves-user-cliff-
fall/> Apple Watch fall detection saves New Jersey man after tumbling off
cliff and breaking his back
* <https://9to5mac.com/2019/12/05/apple-watch-florida-man/> Florida
man who had 'no idea what AFib was' saved by Apple Watch during holiday
travel
* <https://9to5mac.com/2018/05/01/apple-watch-saves-teens-life/> Teen
says Apple Watch saved her life after heart rate alert led to uncovering
kidney failure
* <https://9to5mac.com/2019/07/19/apple-watch-prompts-heart-surgery/>
Apple Watch prompts potentially life-saving heart surgery for 48-year-old
dad
* <https://9to5mac.com/2018/02/16/apple-watch-sos-saves-mom-baby/>
Apple Watch SOS saved a mom and her baby after a drunk driver hit their car
* <https://9to5mac.com/2019/09/30/apple-watch-ecg-heart-condition/>
Apple Watch detects British dad's heart condition, requiring surgery to
avoid stroke or heart attack
* <https://9to5mac.com/2018/05/02/apple-watch-life-saving-ny/> Apple
Watch again credited with saving a life as it leads New York man to discover
erupted ulcer
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