Apple Watch saves man’s life whose heart stopped 138 times in 48 hours | Image: SWNS
David Last, 54, received the watch as a birthday gift from his wife Sarah in April. The watch immediately showed that his resting heart rate was as low as 30bpm. The usual number in men of his age is around 100bpm.
David initially ignored the device as being faulty but decided to visit a doctor at his wife’s suggestion.
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He was referred to a cardiologist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, where he was booked in for an MRI scan in May.
When the results of the scan came, doctors told him that he was at risk of sudden cardiac death.
“The hospital sounded really panicky on the phone, as soon as I got there, they had a bed ready immediately,” David was quoted as saying by Mirror.
He said, “The pre-surgery consultation explained that my case was unusual, and they had extensive meetings about what they were going to do. They explained that I had something called ‘heart block’.
David explained, “The junction box in my heart had stopped working and failed to pass on electrical pulses. My heart had stopped 138 times in 10-second intervals over a 48-hour period.”
This mainly happened when he was asleep, causing another part of his heart to kickstart the blood flow before the process would repeat.
David said that he and his family have never had any history of heart complications. He had no symptoms of heart problems and doctors were amazed to find out how active he is.
