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

[IJ Reilly]

This post makes no sense. The heart rate is in no way connected to coronary disease. He just got lucky... it has nothing to do with the apple watch.
V.

Heart rate is a predictor of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the general population and in patients with cardiovascular disease. Increased resting heart rate multiplies risk and interferes at all stages of the cardiovascular disease continuum initiating from endothelial dysfunction and continuing via atherosclerotic lesion formation and plaque rupture to end-stage cardiovascular disease. As a therapeutic target, heart rate is accessible via numerous pharmacological interventions. The concept of selective heart rate reduction by the I(f) current inhibitor ivabradine provides an option to intervene effectively along the chain of events and to define the specific and prognostic role of heart rate for patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure. Future interventional studies will further clarify the significance of heart rate and targeted heart rate reduction for primary and secondary prevention in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.
​

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0914508713001123

 

[BoulderAdonis]

This is very positive if the sensor on the watch is accurate.
Mine, apparently, isn't.
When I track a workout I sometimes check the beat rate, and I see random values. If I'm out of breath my rate cannot be 70/80bpm, it is obviously above 100bpm and that's the value I get after a usually, but sometimes it goes back to a low value, then above 100 and so on.
I didn't enable the warning since I don't trust it at all. Maybe my series 1 isn't working fine, maybe only a minority of customers have a similar problem.
I'll try again with a future version of the Watch, as I'm confident they'll improve the sensor and hopefully they'll introduce some more health related features, in the Watch or in third party bands.

Sometimes that happens. I compete, cardio 2 hours a day 7 days a week, lifting 5 days a week when I’m dieting.

Some exercises / cardio machines / wrist positions cause it to lose contact or something, and then it seems to default to ~70bpm. But, I was just at 130 a second ago!!

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Thank you Dr. Internet!

When I read the post quoted by "Dr. Internet," I immediately thought of sleep apnea - elevated heart rate is a well-known symptom. However, I would have posted, "You might have sleep apnea, it may be worth discussing with a doctor" rather than issue such a firm diagnosis.

For now, the key difference between the person in the article and the person who made that subsequent post is that one chose to seek out medical attention, the other has (so far) chosen to disregard the data as an anomaly. While it may turn out to be an anomaly, he/she may be disregarding important information.

 

[wernicke]

He was, however not treated according to treatment guidelines. With occlusions like that, he should have undergone coronary by-pass surgery. Happy he is alive though!

 

[yaxomoxay]

That doesn't make any sense. It's a ******** answer

You asked why Cook uses lattes to justify the price of the product.
He has two choices, he either explains it in technical terms (OH, amortization, R&D, materials, etc) or he explains it using an easier, non technical object. Most people don’t understand what’s behind a price point - surprisingly many think that Apple makes price less material costs in revenue - so the best way is to show that it’s the equivalent of just a few coffees. Incidentally, that is also a simplified version of what is called opportunity cost.
So, you decide: for the same price, is it better investment an Apple Watch or 100 Lattes?

 

[jerryk]

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.

Interesting. I do machine learning and AI and have a question. Could the watch or an advanced version of the watch be able to gather levels of information depicted in an EKG given that they are a wrist connected device?

My thoughts are that if you feed the data from EKG traces into a Machine Learning model it could "read" that data and detect patterns in the data that a cardiologist could designate as indicative of an underlying condition. But, no one wants to run about all day with a series of leads attached to them.

 

[djlythium]

Skip two lattes a month (good for your heart health too!), and you'll have an Apple Watch paid off in 18 months. You can get them on sale for $149.

You were on point with your rebuttal until you said “...in 18 months...”, at which point you confirmed the OP’s sentiment. Argument fail.

Apple, should, indeed, stop being so greedy.

 

[djlythium]

Glad homeboy is still alive, but I can’t help staggering at:

“...two out of his three main coronary arteries were completely blocked...”

D’Aquino: “I feel fine...”

 

[Aston441]

The longer we keep old people alive and sucking social services the worse it gets for younger generations.

 

[AppleScruff1]

But you can't say that is because of smartphone addiction. Clearly it's stupid, distracted, behavior against the law and people should know better. However, knowing better does not equal addiction. And a lack of common sense is not addiction.

In 2016, 10,497 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for 28% of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. Now as unfortunate as this was, can you say these people that are part of these unfortunate statistics are addicted to alcohol?

https://www.google.com/search?q=how....69i57j0l3.12888j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Many of the people killed in alcohol related accidents are victims of an impaired driver. Many impaired drinkers have a problem with alcohol, but certainly not all of them. I see people obsessed with cell phones and unfortunately in some cases this continues while driving. Addiction or obsession?

 

[neutralguy]

I don't understand what's so amazing about this. If he had worn any other smart watch with heart rate monitor, he would have gotten the same response and would have saved his life. It's not like he was wearing three other smart watches and none of them informed him about his heart rate besides apple watch!

 

[I7guy]

Many of the people killed in alcohol related accidents are victims of an impaired driver. Many impaired drinkers have a problem with alcohol, but certainly not all of them. I see people obsessed with cell phones and unfortunately in some cases this continues while driving. Addiction or obsession?

We splitting hairs. I guess there is a clinical definition of addiction and probably obsession. However it all boils down to appropriate behavior at an appropriate time. There is no doubt some people are addicted to alcohol and obsessed with phones. And both of those when taken into a moving vehicle can be disastrous. However imo, citing terms like obsession and addiction only take away that people need to use some common sense in their lives.

 

[mi7chy]

How often does your two-finger method measure your heart rate while you're asleep? How about while you're awake but not suspecting a problem?

If you think you have heart arrhythmia while asleep you go to your doctor to prescribe a FDA approved continuous monitoring ECG. Anything that is not FDA approved and doesn't do continuous monitoring by default is a placebo like the Apple Watch since it doesn't give a complete picture.

 

[I7guy]

If you think you have heart arrhythmia while asleep you go to your doctor to prescribe you a FDA approved continuous monitoring ECG. Anything that is not FDA approved and doesn't do continuous monitoring by default which doesn't give a complete picture is a placebo.

It often takes some days to get going with this (I know first hand)unless you go to the emergency room. In the mean time an Apple Watch can provide needed information.

 

[GothicReign]

The set up steps:
Open the Apple Watch app on a paired iPhone.
Tap the My Watch tab, then tap Heart Rate.
Tap Elevated Heart Rate, then choose a BPM.

Do not appear to be accurate for the Apple Watch 1 running OX 4.3

 

[chucker23n1]

I don't understand what's so amazing about this. If he had worn any other smart watch with heart rate monitor, he would have gotten the same response and would have saved his life. It's not like he was wearing three other smart watches and none of them informed him about his heart rate besides apple watch!

It's not "amazing". It's notable and heartening.

That said, other smart watches (including the original Apple Watch) may not detect patterns and notify about them.

 

[citysnaps]

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

No, not in the slightest.

However, taking responsibility for your life and condition, and simply purchasing another manufacturer's phone with OS that makes you happy, will.

 

[interstella]

The longer we keep old people alive and sucking social services the worse it gets for younger generations.

Do your parents and grandparents know you feel that way about them? I think your tune may change once you're classed as "old".

 

[neliason]

Mine goes off every time I'm nervous (such as a flight take off) or when I'm sitting still and bouncing my leg since I wear my watch lose.

I had to turn it off.

I was wondering about people with anxiety (not saying being nervous before a flight is anxiety as I mean it). People with anxiety tend to easily fear the worst, especially regarding health. And anxiety can lead to an elevated heart rate. I’d wonder if the watch might give a lot of false alarms in those cases.

 

[HiVolt]

The feature is available worldwide on Series 1 (i.e., not on the original Watch) and newer. You're thinking of the Heart Study, which isn't relevant here.

Oh, my bad. You're right. For some reason I got the two were related.

Thanks.

 

[Aston441]

Do your parents and grandparents know you feel that way about them? I think your tune may change once you're classed as "old".

I am old! Keep paying your taxes Sonny while I'm out on the lake living it up!

 

[chucker23n1]

I was wondering about people with anxiety (not saying being nervous before a flight is anxiety as I mean it). People with anxiety tend to easily fear the worst, especially regarding health. And anxiety can lead to an elevated heart rate. I’d wonder if the watch might give a lot of false alarms in those cases.

I fail to see how elevated heart rate due to anxiety is a false alarm, though. Sounds like cause for concern to me.

 

[pdaholic]

Interesting. I do machine learning and AI and have a question. Could the watch or an advanced version of the watch be able to gather levels of information depicted in an EKG given that they are a wrist connected device?

My thoughts are that if you feed the data from EKG traces into a Machine Learning model it could "read" that data and detect patterns in the data that a cardiologist could designate as indicative of an underlying condition. But, no one wants to run about all day with a series of leads attached to them.

Unfortunately the data obtained from a heart rate monitor is incredibly limited compared to the data obtained from an ekg. There are studies looking at best-to-beat variability. The lack of which might be indicative of hypertension and heart disease, but it’s only suggestive data. EKGs give us more information like cardiac ischemia, intervals of electrical flow through parts of the heart, and more. I’m happy to answer other questions you might have offline so the mods don’t yell at me for getting off topic.

 

[vladimirc]

Heart rate is a predictor of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the general population and in patients with cardiovascular disease. Increased resting heart rate multiplies risk and interferes at all stages of the cardiovascular disease continuum initiating from endothelial dysfunction and continuing via atherosclerotic lesion formation and plaque rupture to end-stage cardiovascular disease. As a therapeutic target, heart rate is accessible via numerous pharmacological interventions. The concept of selective heart rate reduction by the I(f) current inhibitor ivabradine provides an option to intervene effectively along the chain of events and to define the specific and prognostic role of heart rate for patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure. Future interventional studies will further clarify the significance of heart rate and targeted heart rate reduction for primary and secondary prevention in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.
​

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0914508713001123

that has nothing to do with the spikes that an apple watch can detect. The predictor of mortality described in the article you linked is a steady high heart rate, which the watch wouldn't detect. The watch might be good at detecting arrhythmias but that has nothing to do with the article. The story described is just a lucky one.
V.

 

[robbieleffel]

Gaston D'Aquino says the Apple Watch saved his life. By sharing his story, he hopes it can help save the lives of others too.

Photo Credit: South China Morning Post​

According to the South China Morning Post, the 76-year-old was sitting at church when his Apple Watch alerted him to his elevated heart rate. Having read similar stories before, he went directly to a local hospital.

"I told the doctor I don't know why I'm here, but my watch tells me I have an elevated heart rate," said D'Aquino. "He says, 'Are you feeling anything?' I said no, I feel fine, I'm feeling all right, nothing's wrong."

After an electrocardiograph machine indicated something was wrong, doctors conducted tests and discovered that two out of his three main coronary arteries were completely blocked, with the third 90 percent blocked. Of course, that means he was at risk of suffering a potentially fatal heart attack.

D'Aquino said he had visited a cardiologist before, who had prescribed him daily medication for diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, but there was never any indication that there were any deeper issues.

After the doctors shared the test results with him, D'Aquino quickly agreed to have an angioplasty, a procedure to restore blood flow to the heart by implanting tiny stents in clogged or blocked arteries. He was sent home the following day and said "it went well and I'm feeling much, much better."

"Having a new lease of life is a good thing," he said. "You wake up the next morning and you look around you, everything looks more beautiful. It's a great feeling; you're on a high for a few days. That feeling is something special."

As a self-professed Apple fan, D'Aquino sent an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook in early April. In recounting his story, he noted that "this was the first time that my watch alert had ever gone off, but I was not feeling anything, no dizziness or pain" and added that "in short, I was a walking time bomb."

"Please continue promoting the use of the Apple Watch for anyone with cardiac problems. I lost a cousin two weeks ago to a massive heart attack, and if he had an Apple Watch, he might have had the same opportunity I got - to live."

Cook said he was "so glad" to hear that D'Aquino is doing well now. "I appreciate you taking the time to share your story. It inspires us to keep pushing."

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.

On all Apple Watch Series 1 or newer models, users can turn on heart rate notifications when they first open the Heart Rate app, or at any time later:Open the Apple Watch app on a paired iPhone.
Tap the My Watch tab, then tap Heart Rate.
Tap Elevated Heart Rate, then choose a BPM.If you have any family, friends, or know of anyone else with an Apple Watch, remind them to enable this potentially life saving feature. For people like D'Aquino and Deanna Recktenwald, it has given them a new lease on life.

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

Is there a stand-alone heart rate monitor that is this good that is cheaper?
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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.

Seems a lot cheaper than open heart surgery.