New Delhi: Nitesh Chopra, a resident of Haryana gifted an Apple Watch Series 6 to his wife last year. Little did the 34-year-old Yamuna Nagar resident, who had been experiencing some chest pain, know that the device would turn out to be his life saviour.
His wife Neha asked him to take an ECG on the watch. The ECG showed some irregularities and hence, the couple went to a hospital to seek treatment. An angiography later, Chopra was told there was a frightening 99.9 per cent blockage in his arteries.
Chopra was discharged after surgery and a few days in the hospital. Neha said that the doctor placed a stent in his heart and added that they were lucky that anything bad didn't happen.
"It was the Apple Watch that actually gave as an indication as because my husband is in his early 30s, we would have never even imagined him to be suffering from blocked arteries," she further added.
Neha was grateful that the watch alerted them on time as a result of which she wanted to thank Apple CEO Tim Cook for the technology that was instrumental in saving her husband's life. So, she decided to send him an e-mail.
"We reached the hospital only because of the technology provided by you and he is now fine and healthy. I wish you lots of love and happiness and thank you for giving my husband his life," Neha wrote in the email.
Surprisingly, the Apple CEO responded to her email.
"I'm so glad you sought medical attention and received the treatment you needed. Thanks for sharing your story with us. Be well. Best, Tim," the email read.
The couple is currently sharing the watch but Neha now plans to purchase another Apple Watch. Nitesh is a dentist by profession and is back home recovering.
"We ignored the readings thinking a young man in his early 30s can't have such arrhythmia. But our last reading on Saturday, March 12, was consistent with the previous alerts and made us believe that something was not right with my heart health and we should rush to the hospital. Once we reached the hospital, the doctor did an ECG and we even compared it with the monitor. When I was in CCU, my wife and I were continuously comparing our Apple Watch reading with the monitor and they were in sync," Chopra says.
"I definitely recommend this not just for heart patients but everyone who cares about their own health," he adds.
An electrocardiogram (ECG) records the timing and strength of the electrical signals that make the heart beat. By looking at an ECG, a doctor can gain insights about the heart rhythm and look for irregularities.
The ECG app on the Apple Watch checks the electrical pulses to get the heart rate and see if the upper and lower chambers of the heart are in rhythm.
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