76-Year-Old Gaston D'Aquino Latest to Say Apple Watch Saved His Life

[mi7chy]

Baloney. You can walk around all day long with your fingers on your neck or wrist. Have fun with that.

What do you think happens when your HRM watch runs out of battery? Yep, you resort to reliable two finger method.

You're probably also not even aware that HRM watches don't continuously monitor HR and only does it in intervals to preserve the already short battery life. For comparison, two finger method works as often as you want with no worry of draining battery.

 

[jicon]

I'm going thru a cold for a few days, I had the watch check for anything above 100, and I had a day there where it was going off five times an hour. Stuffed sinuses will affect your heart rate apparently.

Anyway, one reason I have been using it was another warning sign something is going sideways. I'm a type 1 diabetic for 33 years, and in my 40s now, it seems to be a bit tougher to notice sugars going up or down. The watch's HR warning has helped spot something typically not right.

As good as that has been however, I'm pretty pumped about wearing an Abbott Libre sensor on my arm for near immediate interstitial glucose levels with the wave of a NFC reader that shows an 8 hour graph. If I could check readings with the watch, that would be neat. Still waiting on Apple to approve the Abbott app on the Canadian appstore so I can check the sensor with my phone. One less item to cram in to a pocket.

 

[pdaholic]

Pure techno BS! Everyone can feel elevated heart rate. Don't need an Apple Watch to tell me that...

Absolutely wrong. Not everybody can feel an elevated heart rate. Atrial fibrillation is a perfect example, some people feel when they slip into it, others can’t tell when their atria are fibrillating and they have a ventricular response of 140’s. The latter people are the ones who develop clots in their atria that embolize and cause strokes. Apple Watch can be very useful there.

This story, however, reads like the Apple Watch picked up his coronary artery disease. In fact, it was just fortunate his doctor did an EKG where ischemic changes were picked-up. The elevated heart rate may or may not have had anything to do with his heart disease, but it did get the guy to see his doctor.

 

[vpro]

All his medications cause a lot of side effects. The thing that will ultimately truly save his life and sustain a life would be to go to a mostly plant based diet and regular physical activity such as walking everyday, riding a bike etc etc. This alerted him to rethink health and behaviour surrounding food, lifestyle and physical activity. A doctor wouldn’t have pointed anything out to him, they’d just pump him full of drugs until something “severe” comes up. This “alert” gave his specialists an opportunity to probe. But they are just going to suggest more drugs and even surgeries Which all equals less quality of life and fast track to painful death.

 

[adnbek]

Sounds like fear mongering to push watch sales.

With such short HRM battery life and questionable accuracy you're better off using the reliable two finger method approved by doctors and nurses that works 24 hours without needing to be recharged.

I know you enjoy trolling this forum but this is taking it to new levels.

 

[IJ Reilly]

What do you think happens when your HRM watch runs out of battery? Yep, you resort to reliable two finger method.

You're probably also not even aware that HRM watches don't continuously monitor HR and only does it in intervals to preserve the already short battery life. For comparison, two finger method works as often as you want with no worry of draining battery.

Recharging seems to work pretty well for not having the battery run down. I am completely aware that it doesn't monitor continuously, but it doesn't need to in order to provide a heck of a lot more sampling than you get from occasionally checking with your fingers. Most importantly, few are going to check manually unless they suspect their heart rate is elevated. A person can easily lack awareness of this condition.

 

[fatalogic]

The last time the elevated heart rate notification came up for me was a certain event in GOT this past season.

 

[JustToBlock]

I sleep with my Watch on and a couple times I’ve received an elevated heart rate notification. The only time I’ve received them is in the middle of the night when I’m sleeping.

You have sleep apnea.

 

[duervo]

I am no doctor, but isn't your heart rate dependant upon your weight? I thought the maximum heart rate decreases if you lose weight. Why not check for the users weight in this page itself, otherwise wouldn't there be a lot of false alarms??

The value for maximum heart rate can be adjusted by the user on the watch. The take away with stories like this one is that the watch can alert to changes in max heart rate. A change that a typical person may not be aware is a cause for concern. If the rate jumps to a new high (above what the user previously set), it’s a signal that something can be wrong, and the user should consult a doctor.

Watch isn’t going to diagnose a problem. It’s just going to alert the user to a change. Who knows what will be possible in the future. Products like these might be capable of diagnosis too. For now, need to have an EKG done to properly diagnose the cause for these max heart rate alert events.

 

[ipedro]

I’m on a 180 day 3 ring streak and I’ve noticed a significant difference in how I go about my day. I watch way less Tv (practically none down from 4 hours a day) because I have to stand every hour and that kicks me out of my laziness. I spend more time outdoors because going for walks is the easiest way to hit my move and exercise goals.

I’ve never been overweight but I’ve always carried it in my belly. Not anymore. Men with belly fat are at a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, among other disorders. I’m saving myself from future health disorders and prolonging my life.

While AppleWatch rings are a fantastic way to improve your health, I’d like a breath goal to join the rings as a green dot in the middle. Mental health is so critical to overall health that meditation should be a part of everyone’s day, even if it’s just a 2 minute breathing exercise. It all adds up.

 

[Tozovac]

Would owning an Apple watch help lower my elevated agitation over iOS's reduced intuitiveness and bland monochromatic flat design styling since 2013?

 

[twistedpixel8]

I have an original Apple Watch and can't use the feature, my life is not as valuable to apple

This type of feature should be available on all versions of Apple Watches. It’s too important. Yes, it would have an impact on S1’s battery but it should 100% be the choice of the user. I’m sick of Apple doing this kind of thing to make their crappy batteries appear better.

 

[A MacBook lover]

All that aggression is it because you're online or because you own apple stocks? I never said that they were superior. What I did say is that they have long lasting batteries. 2 days seems ridiculous if you're a traveler or if you hike constantly. I do think that it is an awesome product but I can't understand how it can work well if you're so dependent on a 2 day battery.
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Again, I never said they do. The apple watch is like having a Ferrari that can you can only drive for 20 miles. It might be awesome, but if you always need to fuel it, what's the point? It's the same as with a lot of electric cars. Amazing product, awful autonomy.
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https://www.apple.com/lae/watch/battery.html here they mention 18h.

I would say 1.5 days is the average. But getting two full days (until bedtime the second day) is pretty common, if u don’t use it much.

 

[imola.zhp]

Does this elevated heart rate detection know when you are quiescent vs. when you are working out? I regularly push my heart rate north of 160 on my bicycle (and have seen north of 200 a couple of times this year). I don't want false positives.

I haven't pulled the trigger on a watch yet. I'm still waiting for glucose monitoring.

D'Aquino's situation might have been different had it not been for the Apple Watch's ability to detect an elevated heart rate, introduced in watchOS 4. When enabled, the feature notifies the wearer if their heart rate remains above a chosen beats per minute while they appear to have been inactive for a period of 10 minutes.

If your waiting for glucose monitoring this information wont make you pull the trigger yet, but just for your knowledge.

 

[IJ Reilly]

You have sleep apnea.

Thank you Dr. Internet!

 

[Rebel Heart]

I am no doctor, but isn't your heart rate dependant upon your weight? I thought the maximum heart rate decreases if you lose weight. Why not check for the users weight in this page itself, otherwise wouldn't there be a lot of false alarms??

It can certainly influence your heart rate. But age plays a bigger role, and the way your body is 'built'. Let's say you seem slim or average, the amount of fat around your organs could still be high. And often, people who are built like that, have high cholesterol and a already high BP. If somewhere an artery starts clogging up, your heart rate will go up and up, as your heart tries to pump blood all around your body. That's why mr. D'Aquino's heart rate became so high. His heart had to work incredibly hard to pump blood for his whole body through that 10% opening.
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Should the first cardiologist have tested him in the same manner before prescribing him a slew of drugs?

He probably should have, but if there's no indication, insurance won't pay for those examinations and tests sadly.

 

[mi7chy]

Recharging seems to work pretty well for not having the battery run down.

How are you going to recharge in the context of your original response from walking around all day?

Baloney. You can walk around all day long with your fingers on your neck or wrist. Have fun with that.

 

[Swift]

As someone who has had two stents implanted with an angioplasty, I'm seriously thinking I may have to get an Apple Watch.

 

[neutralguy]

Great Apple! Now lower the prices of your products. I get a heart attack every time I see the price of a Watch that has the potential to save my life.

Ha ha ha. Apple will double the price now.. saving life is priceless. You can't attach a price tag to it. Apple will make heart rate monitoring optional in future and will sell that addition service for $199.

 

[burgman]

A drop in the bucket compared to how many lives has been ruined due to smartphone addiction.

Ruined, your word, vs dead. See how stupid that sounds?

 

[44267547]

The apple watch is like having a Ferrari that can you can only drive for 20 miles. It might be awesome, but if you always need to fuel it, what's the point? It's the same as with a lot of electric cars. Amazing product, awful autonomy.

Your car And Apple Watch analogy is actually terrible. The Apple Watch battery life is actually very good, but that’s also based on how somebody uses it. But most likely don’t have to charge their watch throughout the day and can easily achieve over 18 hours. Its No different than having to charge your iPhone on a daily basis in most cases, why is it so difficult and that much of a hassle to charge an Apple Watch? It’s not.

 

[Swift]

The watch is looking out for irregularities. According to Apple: "If your heart rate remains above a chosen beats per minute (BPM) while you appear to have been inactive for a period of 10 minutes, your Apple Watch can notify you."

There's lots of factors that influence heart rate, blood pressure and so on. Being overweight would tend to increase your "resting" heart rate, the baseline, because there's a lot of work to do moving that body around, and getting blood to every nook and corner. A blockage that would be getting close to total, according to the report, could get the rate very high above that resting rate. Enough to start odd rhythms and you know, eventually, stop.

 

[The Game 161]

all hail the apple watch
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Your car And Apple Watch analogy is actually terrible. The Apple Watch battery life is actually very good, but that’s also based on how somebody uses it. But most likely don’t have to charge their watch throughout the day and can easily achieve over 18 hours. Its No different than having to charge your iPhone on a daily basis in most cases, why is it so difficult and that much of a hassle to charge an Apple Watch? It’s not.

Yeah I never get this.

Chances are you have the watch charger next to your bed. Is it really an issue putting it on ther each night? I charge my apple watch every night but could easily get two full days worth. I just like a full charge each day.

 

[mi7chy]

A lot of misleading information. Apple need to be more upfront with how Apple Watch does HRM.

By default HRM on the Apple Watch only captures HR in intervals of several minutes (not continuous) so it may not detect intermittent irregular heart beats.

It has to be in workout mode for continuous HR monitoring but that takes a huge impact to the already short battery life. Apple claim 10 hours HRM only without GPS/LTE but in reality it's more like 6 hours or maybe less which you then have to resort to the reliable two finger method.

If you're depending your life on a HRM device it's best to fully understand how it works and the limitations.

 

[signupwithtwitter]

awesome. your boy has "diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure" and cant tell that his heart rate is like you just ran a 5K

but a heart rate tracker on your wrist tells you something's wrong. can we even use our brains in society any more? howabout getting your life under control first