A mum claims her Apple Watch saved her life after it alerted her to a heart condition she was unaware of.
Elaine Thompson, 59, took a trip to the doctors after her smart device flagged her of an irregular heart rhythm. As a result, she was given a heart monitor for a week which flagged that she flatlined for 19 seconds in her sleep.
She was then rushed to hospital before being diagnosed with a heart condition. Now, she has a pacemaker and has credited her Apple Watch with first making her aware of the issue.
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Elaine said: "My daughter rang me and told me I needed to go in to hospital urgently and the doctors were trying to get hold of me. I went in and they told me that my results showed I’d flatlined for 19 seconds.
"They told me it was an electrical fault with my heart and that I needed to be fitted with a pacemaker. I had it done the next day and now I have it for life. But it’s a relief I went to get it looked at, otherwise I might be dead."
"It saved my life. If I hadn’t had the alert I wouldn’t have brought it up with the doctor," she said. "Now I wear the Apple Watch all the time."
"It was so scary knowing I could have died. I flatlined for 19 seconds. I might not have woken up."
After suffering from seizures in April 2018, Elaine underwent treatment for epilepsy. She was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead but tests could not reveal anything wrong with her.
However, she continued to collapse so doctors put her on medication in an attempt to stop the episodes. In February 2022 her daughter Ashleigh Thompson, 39, sent Elaine an Apple watch and use it as a monitor.
Elaine said: "When I woke up one day there was a red alert. It advised to see a doctor so I did and showed them the results the watch had recorded.”
Tests still failed to reveal anything wrong, however, the mum-of-two was placed on a waiting list for a heart monitor. She had to wait until November before she was finally fitted with it.
By January 2023, she had found out the results. Elaine said: "My daughter rang me and told me I needed to go in to hospital urgently and the doctors were trying to get hold of me. I went in and they told me that my results showed I’d flatlined for 19 seconds.
"They told me it was an electrical fault with my heart and that I needed to be fitted with a pacemaker. I had it done the next day and now I have it for life. But it’s a relief I went to get it looked at, otherwise I might be dead."
She was eventually diagnosed with an atrioventricular block in the heart that causes it to beat more slowly and with an abnormal rhythm. According to the NHS, it is a severe condition and can sometimes be categorised as a medical emergency.
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